Diiv // Is the Is Are

Diiv

Is the Is Are

Captured Tracks

4/5 stars

Diiv's first record was amazing. Oshin hit fans at just the right time, and it was exactly what a lot of people needed. I've since seen the band a few times, and kept a close eye out for their follow-up album. Almost four years later, we get Is the Is Are. With so much riding on an album like that, did the band pull it off? So far, the answer is a cautious "pretty much?" This record sounds great, but it won't be the watershed that Oshin was. The hypnotic, reverb-heavy hooks are everywhere. Beach Fossils' alum Zachary Cole Smith's vocals are lackadaisical, soft, and ghostly. Smith's longtime girlfriend, songwriter/model/actress Sky Ferreira, makes a notable appearance as well on "Blue Boredom." The couple is the very model of underground hipster royalty. Smith has recently been using his Cobain-esque look to model for Saint Laurent. The couple even endured a drug arrest in 2013, adding to their collective mystique. Does the mini-celebrity-status hinder the band's sound, though? Not really. The album is brighter than before, and longer. There are 17 shoegazey tracks here to feast on. – Nick Warren