★★★★★
Brooklyn native Zachary Cole Smith has moved about for four years, working at a singular sound and penning psychedelic state-of-mind melodies under the moniker DIIV.
In the aftermath of his first record, however, a noticeable and induced shift in conversation occurred, as Smith gained notoriety for recklessness and trouble. This wild period of woe birthed Is The Is Are, a 60-something-minute account of Smith’s explorative struggle down the path of sobriety and sanity.
Instantaneously familiar and fresh, Smith grabs from everything 2012’s Oshin did so well and takes a leap forward. Awash with light and spacious guitar riffing and swathes of skittering drums, this welcome return appears a tighter attempt, falling easy on the ears.
When Oshin painted with dense dollops of distortion, Smith’s words regularly became lost within his own sonic sea. This time – with the help of co-vocalist Sky Ferreira contributing Kim Gordon-like harmonies – there is an audible reduction in reverb, allowing space for Smith’s lyricism to become the focal component.
From start to finish, DIIV’s new collection takes on a fuller, pop-centric shape; a slight evolution that manages not to stray too far from the source while emerging with its own direction.
DIIV’sIs The Is Areis out now on Captured Tracks/Remote Control.
