Walking Two Feet Above the Ground: DIIV – Is The Is Are, album review
Is The Is Are is a record born out of hardship and tumult. Coming four years behind Zachary Cole Smith’s breakout debut, Oshin, Is The Is Are describes the confusion & contradictions of stardom, addiction, early romance, dappled in shadows and clouds of reverbed guitar and distant vocals. From Smith’s own mouth, he will tell you much has changed in the last four years, and guitar music isn’t precisely en vogue at the moment, as he told Pitchfork during an interview, “Guitar music isn’t what people are talking about, and I don’t know if it’s 100 percent what the world needs, My ambitions are higher, of course, but I have to consider all options, because I don’t know what will happen.” So does the world need another distant, detached Dream Pop/New Wave romantic depressed shoegaze record? In this instance, the answer is absolutely yes. We need Smith’s voice. And not only for its redemptive powers, but also for describing the journey to the edge of night, along the way. It is tempting to talk about Is …
