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14 August 2012

Andrew Reinholds reviews the dreamy and ethereal summer songs of Diiv.

Brooklyn four piece Diiv bring their spin to the dream-pop genre with Oshin, their debut album. Hot on the heels of Real Estate, The Drums, Best Coast & Beach House, they have delivered an album that sounds even more ethereal and sun-kissed than their more established peers.

Aurally, Oshin leans heavily on pleasing reverb laden guitar melodies. Twisting and turning around each other, deliberately unintelligible vocals of repeated phrases are overlaid as an extension of the guitar work to help create an otherworldly atmosphere.

However it is the rhythm section that provides a clear point of difference for DIIV and helps to anchor the dream-like melodies to bring such a thrilling Kruatrock groove to tracks ‘Past Lives’, ‘Human’, ‘Air Conditioning’ and ‘(Druun Pt.II)’ that they are finished and gone well before they have even begun to overstay their welcome.

Subtle and hypnotic, it’s the perfect companion to relax with a cold beverage and take the sting out of a blisteringly hot day. The calendar may have only just ticked over into August, but summer’s first essential album has arrived.