DIIV’s second album marks Zachary Cole Smith’s return from the brink of career suicide. Smith was labelled a heroin-addled waster following his September 2013 arrest for narcotics possession with his girlfriend, singer/model Sky Ferreira. But the frontman and songwriter managed to kick his drug problems and re-apply himself to music, and this album is proof of his convalescence.
The project’s debut album Oshin was a somewhat overlooked masterpiece, and Is The Is Are is an ambitious double LP that recalls much of the glory of Oshin while expanding deeper into the realms of indie rock, dream pop and prog. Droning, relentless riffs, jangling chord progressions, and a whiff of New York hobo chic are again the order of the day, providing many moments of majesty. This is especially true of the title track, first single Dopamine, and second track Under The Sun. Ferreira adds lead vocals to Blue Boredom, which never really gets going, while the feeling of Mire (Grant’s Song) is, as the name suggests, of a singer wallowing in misery. Take Your Time follows the same formula, albeit with a much more sombre tone.
Overall, the record’s no Oshin, mostly due to a surplus of tracks and too much of the latter half sounding like a single, coagulated whole. Nevertheless, Smith remains both an intriguing figure and indie rock creative worth keeping an eye on.
BY PAUL MCBRIDE
