Is the Is Are

The nature of a double album means it’s either a glorious artistic statement, or a sprawling mess of self indulgence. An act such as DIIV is so unassuming that it couldn’t be the former, but nor is it the latter.

There are times where DIIV threaten to become too in love with their own sound, particularly toward the middle. But beyond lending Is the Is Are a necessary heft to back Smith’s claims, these songs are convincing portrayals of checked-out living.

There will no doubt be some making the age-old "less is more" argument that comes with any double LP, but that shouldn't overshadow the fact that DIIV have returned with a powerful, immersive sophomore album.

Here and throughout Is the Is Are, DIIV reveal themselves as a more thoughtful, more rewarding band than could have been expected from their debut.

Smith doesn’t make any compromises to make things any more agreeable--in fact, the album’s bloated runtime and cogent lyrical content makes it a somewhat weary listen that rewards more when taken in short, sporadic sessions.

The buoyancy at the center of the open-road-ready “Dopamine,” subtly urgent “Yr Not Far,” and chiming “Loose Ends” makes the 17 tracks drift by like a breeze on a particularly carefree spring day.

What’s most impressive is in how Cole’s story peaks towards the end. Instead of dragging you down or being overbearing, Is The Is Are’s tale finds stark truths when it closes.

Diiv are demanding complete sonic immersion, and providing the listener with ample opportunities to lose themselves.

There’s an urgency to the songs--aided by crisp production--as if Smith resolved to get all his feelings out.

Is The Is Are nails all of nostalgia's sonic signifiers, without any of the retrograde guilt. [Mar 2016, p.100]

It’s no wonder the process felt redemptive for Smith; to exorcise years of mounting bleakness is no doubt a relief, but the resulting record is one that’s compelling for the exact opposite reasons. It’s not a light at the end of a tunnel, but luminescence creeping through the crack of a doorway--illuminating just enough to let you realize just how dark everything still is.

Is The Is Are, more than any album in a long time, feels like a great and immersive book, with the band further describing a new world with each track. [Jan/Feb 2016, p.55]

Forget all the baggage, this is just a band in a room, and the noise they make is thrilling.

The end result is highly accomplished, viscerally honest and at times hypnotically beautiful, even if it ultimately doesn’t quite live up to its creator’s ambition.

Over 17 sprawling songs, the album seeks to split the difference between music that induces a woozy rush and brutally honest lyrics about trying to keep one's head on straight.

A welcome return, and one that hopefully signals a healthier and less troublesome existence in the future.

Over 17 similarly sounding tracks it becomes slightly more soporific. [Mar 2016, p.109]

Repeat visits are sure to unearth more of the band’s thought process, but there's a lingering sense that less could've been so much more.

It’s an overstuffed, yet often enthralling record by a band revealing depths that weren’t as apparent before.

Is the Is Are is certainly honest, but it could use a little more optimism, and the music’s circuitousness only adds to the feeling that a single issue is being poked and prodded to exhaustion.

While sweetened by a potent handful of emphatic guitar romps, DIIV’s latest record quickly overstays its welcome, and ultimately would do well to be remembered as more than just a watered-down collection of indie rock songs.

The Brooklyn five-piece's second record resembles an ordinary collection of pebbles--unlike their early sea-washed gems. [Mar 2016, p.73]

Is the Is Are, like its title, conjures up a nothingness that is suffocating, especially coupled with the way that the band sells this music as if it were some kind of spiritual exercise.