Album Review: DIIV - Is The Is Are
By Chuck Greenlee, Contributor
[Captured Tracks; 2016]
Rating: 4/5
Key Tracks: “Under The Sun,” “Out of Mind”
It seems as though we are in the midst of a new wave of shoegaze. With many bands to pick and choose from, DIIV should certainly be near the top of anyone’s list. The Brooklyn quartet have just released its sophomore album Is the Is Are, and fans of that particular sound should be able to find quite a few solid tracks on the album.
Is the Is Are opens up with with “Out of Mind.” The song immediately opens with a gentle guitar that hits the ears pretty nicely. The opening track is very easy to listen to and can appeal to just about any audience--and the same can be said for the first few songs on the album.
Some of the tracks' sound link indie rock with a touch of shoegaze influence, which should help DIIV attract some of the indie rocker audience. As the album goes on it's able to strike more of the, if you will, “grassroots” shoegaze. Tracks such as “Dust” and “Incarnate Devil” have a lot of that classic shoegaze distortion to them.
The whole shebang ends up being 17 songs, and floats around an hour in terms of length. At some point throughout this the listener should find more than a few songs that stand out to them, as the record is a diverse affair altogether. All in all, Is the Is Are will certainly help DIIV reach the top of plenty of “Artists to Watch” lists in the coming year.
