Diiv Score 10.0 On Their Much Awaited Return To London
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“I don’t clean my room. My mum cleans my room”.
Ground breaking confessions from Zachary Cole Smith, Diiv’s compelling frontman, on the night the Brooklyn-based band celebrated the launch of 'Is The Is Are' at Rough Trade East.
Diiv’s second album has been a long time coming, eventually following on the back of debut release 'Oshin' after a brief hiatus enforced by some personal issues that dogged the group.
There were occasional moments that highlighted the fact that Diiv are a bit rusty in the live setting. Initial single from 'Is The Is Are' "Dopamine" featured forgotten lyrics from Smith, who repeatedly sung “something something something” before remarking “which frontman forgets his own fucking chorus?”. It’s not something you can imagine a more experienced singer doing, but Diiv’s rough-and-readiness is arguably one of their more appealing traits.
On the album the music is tight, and really rather brilliant. Combining the riffs of Real Estate with the catchy pop-sounds of Wild Nothing, Diiv are a well-polished recording band. Live, their sound becomes much louder and more distorted. This isn’t in the way that a Paul Simon concert might feature a couple of sped up numbers from 'Graceland'; instead Diiv seem to recreate their own material through chaotic means – it means for a fantastic live show.
The night’s standout track, like the album, was "Under the Sun", with the only shame of the evening being that other 'Is The Is Are' gem "Healthy Moon" wasn’t giving an airing.
Their music is still predominantly about getting high, but in spite of this the band seem a lot more with it than they did previously. Diiv are back together and touring. This is great news.
(Image courtesy from The Upcoming)
