DIIV
Deceiver

Late 80s-early 90s: Slowdive, Ride, Curve, My Bloody Valentine, etc... in one word Shoegaze.

The recipe is fairly simple: take a certain dark wave, a bit of Beatles-esque psychedelia, dream pop atmospheres...assemble it all by binding it with layers of distorted guitars that create a dense wall of harmonics.

You might say: "Esticazzi". Sure: but without this ephemeral sound scene, much of Brit Pop’s breeding ground would have been missing. Even the magnificent C.S.I. owe a small part of their influence to it.

However, Shoegaze went unnoticed, as the music industry was chasing after another type of Alternative.

DIIV – Deceiver (2019)

DIIV is a nu-shoegaze band from New York. I Shazamed them at Harrod’s in London. I found it surreal to hear this music as the aftermath of a trip to the Mecca of “Give me Luxury or give me Death!”

Already the authors of two albums: “Oshin” (2012) and “Is the Is Are” (2016), in “Deceiver”, they decisively shift towards a darker and more compact sound.

I highlight the track “Horsehead”, iconic in representing the form and substance of Shoegaze with the wall-of-guitars that rises monolithically, reminiscent of the more inspired Ride.

The catchy single is not missing: “Skin Game” which seems to have come out of Andy Partridge’s pen from XTC (but especially in this case from The Dukes of Stratosphear).

In "Blankenship" instead, DIIV revisits the post-punk sound.

The lysergic melodies are penetrated by guitars on the verge of Doom in “Acheron” and particularly in "Taker".

This record will not change your listening experience. You are already accustomed to everything. You are accustomed to much worse. So if you feel like "traveling", get comfortable in your armchair, put on your headphones, and remember: aim for the ashtray!