Friday, April 11, 2014

DIIV - Air Conditioning

DIIV (pronounced "dive") is a band from Brooklyn with one album out, Oshin (2012). Basically the brainchild of one Zachary Cole Smith, the band's music harks back to late 1980s dream guitar pop, the kind of stuff that might have fit comfortably on 4AD or opening for Ride. It's less shoegazer and more psychedelic pop, sounding a bit like the long forgotten Ocean Blue. Someone told me DIIV recently opened for How To Destroy Angels (Trent Reznor's other band) and I can sort of see the overlap there. Smith says that DIIV is influenced by krautrock (who isn't these days?), Nirvana, and the music of Mali, particularly Baba Salah.

The big 'hit' off Oshin was a song called "Doused" but I like this song better: "Air Conditioning."