DIIV
Carriageworks, Sydney, NSW
June 13th
Since their 2012 dream-pop debut album Oshin, both the music and the subject matter explored by Brooklyn-based four-piece DIIV has gotten heavier and more complex.
On 2016’s Is the Is Are and 2019’s Deceiver, a lot of that was a reflection of frontman Zachary Cole Smith’s battle with and recovery from drug addiction. Now, Smith’s hard-won sobriety has him facing outwards – and not particularly liking what he’s seeing.
Last year’s fourth album Frog in Boiling Water dealt with the none heavier subject matter of societal collapse, its monster, shoegaze-leaning riffs the sour to Smith’s vocal sweetness, even if the lyrics being sung painted a particularly dire portrait of humanity.
As a band – Smith is joined by Andrew Bailey on guitar, Colin Caulfield on bass, keyboards and vocals, and Ben Newman on drums – DIIV are able to flawlessly translate this juxtaposition of darkness and light to a live setting, simultaneously blasting the audience with ribcage-rattling guitar squall and caressing them with layered, lulling harmonies.
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Credit: Jordan Munns
While Frog in Boiling Water is arguably more of a slow burn than DIIV’s first two albums, the tracks make a seismic impact live, from epic opener “In Amber” through to “Soul-net” and “Raining on Your Pillow”, an ominous earworm that plays like a psychedelic trip taking a very dark turn.
Making a strong visual impact is also part of the band’s mission, with Lynchian videos played in between every song, whether it’s DIIV making off-kilter infomercials offering to endorse political candidates for a fee, or creepy, possibly AI-assisted self-help reels spouting empty platitudes and conspiracy theories.
Credit: Jordan Munns
DIIV don’t shy away from their political views, either: “Reflected” alters its lyrics to include a pointed “Free Palestine”, and images of Smith are intercut with apocalyptic imagery of the US military with the words “Death to America” and “America is the Great Satan” emblazoned over the top. Not particularly subtle, sure, but effective in communicating the band’s ideology while they remain mostly silent (stage banter amounts to a few brief “thank yous” at the end from Smith).
Fans of Oshin and Is the Is Are may go away feeling a little short-changed – only three tracks are played from those albums – but the rest of the setlist makes a compelling case for DIIV having become a meatier, more interesting band over the years, even with the weight of the world making it a little harder for the light to shine through.
