DIIV
Oshin
BY EMRE BERBEROĞLU (IR/III)
Release Date: July 9, 2012
Label: Captured Tracks
Producer: DIIV
The Brooklyn-based indie rock band DIIV, formerly known as Dive, released its debut album "Oshin" on July 9. The band consists of Zachary Cole Smith (guitar and vocals), Devin Ruben Perez (bass guitar), Andrew Bailey (guitar) and Colby Hewitt (drums).
The New Yorkers open "Oshin" with the bitter yet soothing track "Druun." No lyrics, only one electric guitar, one bass guitar and a snare drum -- just as simple as that, DIIV gets your attention at the beginning of the album.
Then, they decide to gear up a little with "Past Lives," in which we eventually hear Smith's voice. However, since the whole album is full of reverb effects, it's nearly impossible to understand the words of the songs. With a clean transition, we find ourselves in "Human." Dreamy guitar riffs lead the way in this song, and it's probably the best example of DIIV's dream pop side to be found on the album.
The longest song on the record, "Air Conditioning," is one that you can put on loop and listen to for hours without getting bored. For a group of young musicians, the psychedelic guitar riffs in this song are simply fascinating.
The lyrics of the songs in "Oshin" don't affect you emotionally. Like I said, the reason for this is because they use a lot of reverb effects in their music, and so listeners have a hard time understanding the lyrics. For that matter, in one interview, lead singer Zachary Cole Smith stated that he himself didn't know the lyrics for the song "Doused" until they recorded it properly for the release. "I only hummed things to the microphone at our concerts," he said. The good thing is, in the dream pop/shoegaze genres, lyrics aren't that important, because artists express their feelings in riffs, bass lines and beats.
The conclusion of the album is stunning. First, "Oshin (Subsume)" puts you in a deep and dark place. Then, the band wakes you up with the best song of the album: "Doused." "Doused" gives clear evidence of how Joy Division, Bauhaus and Nirvana have influenced DIIV. After that astonishing track, DIIV puts us back to sleep so that we can continue dreaming.
The Bottom Line: DIIV definitely brings a new face to the music industry. However, after listening to the album a couple of times, you may find that some of the songs start to sound the same. Still, another one of the best albums of 2012.
Notable Tracks: "Drunn"; "How Long Have You Known"; "Drunn Pt. II"; "Doused"
Band's Website: http://capturedtracks.com/artists/diiv-2/
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