Inevitably, 2012 was bound to see the rise of at least one hotly tipped buzz band from Brooklyn, NY, and here they are. DIIV are led by Beach Fossils guitarist Z. Cole Smith, whose early singles won over tastemakers with their jangling guitars and sun-kissed haze of reverb and echo. And although Smith now has a full band backing him, he never strays too far from the dreamy style of those first releases. Oshin is remarkably consistent, both in terms of style and quality, and there isn't a dud amongst these 13 tracks, which sound a great deal like what you'd expect from a guitarist's side-project: the vocals are largely used as a background instrument, with the emphasis placed on layered guitar lines and hypnotic fret board grooves. Despite the lack of variety, the rare moments when the band branch out are good enough to suggest that they are no one-trick pony. "Doused" dials down the sonic sunshine in favour of a threatening minor key pulse, while album highlight "Wait" shifts from gorgeous teen movie keyboards to scorching shoegaze fuzz. These forays suggest that not only is Oshin an outstanding debut, but DIIV may have even greater things ahead of them.
Read an interview with DIIV here.
(Captured Tracks)Read an interview with DIIV here.