DIIV – Deceiver – Album Review
by Killian Laher

DIIV return after a three year gap and some publicised rehab with a far more focused album than previous ones.  For a start there are only 10 songs over 44 minutes, making it significantly shorter than their last album Is The Is Are.  Where previous albums saw pretty soundscapes and a varied tone, this time they have very much concentrated on a gauzy, grittier, shoegaze sound, right from the opener Horsehead.  Some thrilling, mighty riffs are punctuated by some intricate guitar jangle here, accompanying Zachary Cole’s blissed out vocals.  Like Before You Were Born and For The Guilty sound terrific, but they walk the line between My Bloody Valentine homage and plagiarising.  Skin Game is one of the poppier moments, tight taut riffs with a sly jangle underpinning the zonked vocals.

Honey, a track even more introspective than the rest, does some grade A brooding for two or three minutes before exploding into some really fine guitar work.  Taker’s downbeat crunch is reminiscent of the moodier moments of Bob Mould’s Sugar-era material before launching into a lengthy guitar coda, a guitar frenzy echoed later on Blankenship.  It’s very much for fans of the guitar, the only problem is that it is so instant, so immediately appealing, it’s hard to see what this album will reveal in the weeks to come.  A minor gripe for an album of top drawer indie guitar music.

Track List –

1. Horsehead
2. Like Before You Were Born
3. Skin Game
4. Honey
5. Taker
6. For the Guilty
7. Lorelai
8. The Spark
9. Blankenship
10. Acheron

Skin Game