Diiv - Is The Is Are

Diiv - Is The Is Are

Release Date: February 5, 2016 via Captured Tracks

For all the publicity Zachary Cole Smith seems to garner in the indie media regarding drug use, erratic behavior and his relationship with fellow indie-darling Sky Ferreira (all very decidedly “rock-and-roll”), the music his band, Diiv, puts out is actually pretty tame. Not that I’m complaining. We’ve seen our fair share of musicians who seem to believe that being “rock and roll” is more important than actually making good music. Cole does what he does in his personal life in a relatively unflashy way, and makes the music he wants to make similarly. Diiv’s rolling, dreamy rock may not amp you up or pummel you into submission, but its combination of dueling guitars dreamily cascading around each other, driving bass-lines and Cole’s voice, sounding like it’s forever under water, creates its own world that’s a pleasure to get lost in.

Diiv’s new album, Is The Is Are, makes good on the promise of the band’s debut, Oshin, which was plenty good, if a bit aimless. Where Oshin (appropriately) gave one the feeling of floating in the sea – an enjoyable enough endeavor if you’re content with going nowhere for a while – Is The Is Are feels like it’s actually taking you somewhere. Whether or not you’re heading in any particular direction or just moving in circles is beside the point; like Oshin, the songs bleed into each other, providing very little by way of diversity, but the momentum will likely carry you through the album’s 63 minutes faster than you might anticipate. I attribute this to a heavier focus on the bass, which chugs along like an engine underneath the album’s dense 17-track runtime. The reverb on the guitars has also been cleaned up a bit, highlighting solid guitar-work from Cole on lead and Andrew Bailey backing him up.

You’ll have a pretty clear idea of what you’re in for within 30 seconds of opening track and album highlight “Out of Mind.” When Cole sings, “You’re out of sight and out of mind” over a nostalgia-tinged melody – part Real Estate, part Sonic Youth – you get the sense he’s not talking about any individual person but about everyone. Is The Is Are is very much the sound of being lost in the singer’s own thoughts and anxieties, specifically those revolving around his struggle with addiction and a conflicting desire to push people away and want them to stay, and so your reaction to the album will likely hinge on how much you buy into his worldview and very particular sonic fixations.

While the lyrics are mostly hidden under a wash of reverb, making the literal meaning of the songs hard to decipher, the atmosphere of the songs conveys clear feelings of isolation, self-doubt and melancholy, all without ever becoming gloomy or self-pitying. On the contrary, the songs have an air of hopefulness, most likely a result of Cole’s recent sobriety (relative – he kicked heroin but still drinks and smokes weed). While it’s clear the vocal treatment is done so to achieve a particular sonic mood, I do wish the lyrics were a bit less muffled, if only because it seems like Cole has a refreshingly mature perspective on his personal problems.

It’s the interplay between all of these dueling elements that ultimately makes the album a compelling move forward for Diiv. Cole’s internal struggle defied by his eventual optimism; the dreamy melodies paired with the persistent bass and drums; the lilting backing guitar tumbling around the jagged lead guitar; they all find a balance that makes what should be tension feel more like harmony. While harmony may not be the most “rock and roll” thing in the world, it certainly works for Zachary Cole Smith. One can only hope that his struggle for clarity and sobriety continues to produce such mesmerizing music.

Check these songs outs:
"Out of Mind"
"Bent (Roi's Song)"
"Take Your Time"
"Loose Ends"