There are writing processes, and then there’s the road to DIIV’s second album, ‘Is The Is Are’. It’s one potted with drug addiction, high-profile arrests, isolation, writer’s block, fallings out and, at its beginning and end, Zachary Cole Smith’s desire to get his ambitions down on paper; to breathe new meaning into the skeletal outlines of others’ past glories. “We’re trying to extend the life of guitar music,” he recently told Pitchfork’s Jeremy Gordon. He really seems to mean it.
There was a desperation in the assembly of this record, even if that doesn’t quite register in the glimmer of the final product. This is a shot at redemption, plain and simple, and it’s suitably exacting. Drugs cast a long shadow, from Dopamine’s straight up “buried deep in a heroin sleep” to a number of references to rehab and recovery, and Smith lets the record’s context flicker amid soundscapes that will strike an immediate chord with those who took ‘Oshin’ to heart.
As big as it is - ‘Is The Is Are’ runs to 17 tracks and more than an hour - this is a record of poise and execution. It’s best viewed as a collage rather than a collection of songs and you’re far more likely to take away a nagging guitar phrase or pleasing texture than you are an outright hook. For all the incredible dysfunction prior to recording, it’s a remarkably ‘together’ piece of work.
It’s here that it will stand or fall. Many will view it as an exercise in atmospherics and gladly wade into its chorus pedals and circular motifs, but others will see it as a guilty accomplice in the war against self-editing.
Look for highlights and you’ll find them - notably Bent (Roi’s Song), the clever title track and insistent post-punk of Blue Boredom, which features a scene-stealing turn from Smith’s long-time partner Sky Ferreira - but you’ll have to put some miles on the clock doing so.
DIIV’s almost feverish devotion to their aesthetic - not the outsized clothes, the shoegaze by way of reverb-driven guitar heroism - means that they are unlikely to change many minds with this record. But that doesn’t mean they’re not going to delight those who have already bought in. Smith wants to make a mark and, by keeping the customer satisfied, he just might.
DIIV Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu March 17 2016 - BIRMINGHAM Institute
Fri March 18 2016 - LONDON Heaven
Sat March 19 2016 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Sun March 20 2016 - MANCHESTER Gorilla
Mon March 21 2016 - SHEFFIELD Plug, The
Tue March 22 2016 - LEEDS Belgrave Music Hall
Thu March 24 2016 - GLASGOW SWG3
Fri March 25 2016 - EDINBURGH Bongo Club
Sat March 26 2016 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Newcastle Riverside
Sun March 27 2016 - LIVERPOOL Arts Club
Mon March 28 2016 - BRIGHTON Haunt
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