DIIV – OSHIN

DIIV is the name of an alternative-indie band with so much momentum in their atmospheric debut album Oshin, that they will no doubt find themselves rushing into the mainstream soon enough. Originally christened as Dive by creator and lead man Zachary Cole Smith in honour of the Nirvana song, he once said, “everybody in the band is a water sign, that’s why the name Dive really spoke to us”. The original name was changed out of respect to Dirk Ivens, a Belgian industrial musician who already had a solo project with the same moniker. Identity crisis aside, the first impression of Oshin is like listening to Coldplay in a sensory deprivation tank without the dramatics of a symphony orchestra overshadowing the message. It’s that calming, autumnal feeling of enjoying a memory or uncovering something  you never knew existed; a pleasing reaction spurred on by the minimal use of lyrics throughout the 13-track album. Simplistic undertones of bass and drum are led strongly by guitar in each song. It is a classically American underground style that is worth listening to more than once. *** 1/2