Chords for DIIV - Is The Is Are ALBUM REVIEW

[G] Hi everyone, Bleep Thinny Bloop Tano [Db] here, the Internet's [Gm] busiest music nerd.
And it's [Eb] time for a review [D] of the new Dive record,
[Ab] _ Is The_
Is Our.
Brooklyn Dream Pop
[Em] and Post Punk duo [Bb] dropping their sophomore full [A]-length LP
[Dbm] over here following [G] up their very [Bbm] buzzed
debut [A] album Ocean.
[E]
Easily one of the most [Db] relevant records [A] of the past five years
when it comes to [Bm] the
particular sound and style that Dive have going.
Because there's a [Gb] lot of copycats out there.
We'll get into that maybe a little
[Gm] bit deeper into the review, but personally
_ I don't really care for this record.
It's too [Bb] washed out,
[Dbm] too texturally [A]
bland, [B] too
_ _ neglectful [G] of songwriting [Bb] for it to really be catchy, memorable, engaging.
But there's [F] something to be said for the way that Dive sort of [Gb] raced to the front
of this very trendy sound in
[Bm] indie rock music a couple of years ago.
Despite the fact that their sound [C] just
only differs very [A] slightly from many of the other groups chasing after
this [Bb] twang guitar, repetitive,
buried vocal, too much [A] reverb, _ dreamy rock [E] sound.
So I haven't always had a [Dbm] _
positive opinion
[Gm] of [Bb] this _ [Dbm] _
style, this trend [Ab] within rock music, within [G] underground rock [Bbm] music.
However, [Db] I think this new [A] LP over here is kind of an improvement.
I still have my reservations [Ab] here [A] with this record, [Dbm] but
Dive has [B] definitely made their sound a little bit more satisfying.
First, the [A] versatility of this record.
[C] Sure, there's dream and jangle [B] pop on this thing,
[E]
but there's a [Gb] little more post-punk influence [G] on this as well.
And I think [E] a strong [Gm] krautrock [Abm] vibe on some of these [G] tracks, [Bb] especially the title track
here, which reads to [G] me as like a Noy instrumental.
The layers upon layers of guitars [B] on this thing shimmer and [Bb] sparkle beautifully.
They don't kind of bleed [A] and blend together into this really bland, _
unmemorable mess [Ab] like they did on the last [A] record.
The production is just [Bbm] noticeably better, and [Bb] every piece, every layer [A] sticks out
and sort of has its own little spot [Gb]
in the mix.
Even the [D] bass is way more crunchy, [Bm] prominent.
[Db] It just [Ab] pops in the mix really [Bbm] nicely.
_ [Gb]
The drums have a nice spot [A] in the mix, [B] too.
It may sound like [E] they're playing the same beat over and over and over [Dbm] again, but
[Ab] a [Bb] _ _ [E] lot of [B] the [A] elements of each song on this record are pretty [G] similar.
[B] I think it kind of plays to [A] the minimal, hypnotic,
linear direction that each song is kind of moving [D] in.
Dive [Bb] has a very [Abm] obvious [G] formula, but if there's anything they do on this record,
I [D] think they widen it a little bit and [Bm] prove just how much variety [G] they can squeeze out of it.
[Ab] And if there's one more step [Bb] up from their last record to this record to [C] make note of,
it's the _ reverbed [Ab] lead guitar lines, [Gb] which were very prominent on the last [D] album,
but [Gm] for the most part were really _ [B] forgettable.
[Bb] However, I'm finding a lot of the guitar melodies here to be sort [C] of _ captivating.
The [Gb] lead guitars on this record might [C] actually be one of [Bm] this project's saving graces,
because [Db] they're certainly more interesting [G] than
the vocal passages that they trade [F] places with most [E] of the time.
These guitar melodies, [Bbm] they're small, they're short, they're miniature,
but I think they leave an [G] impact.
The lead melody on the song You're Not Far is super catchy.
The squawking, [F] noisy guitars, as well as the very quickly [C] descending
guitar lines on the song Valentine [Bb] are really great.
I love the [C] psychedelic [A] layers upon [G] layers [F] of guitars [G] on the song Loose [Ab] Ends.
That was a really nice touch.
And [B] the lead melody on the song Under the Sun is really bright.
It's really [G] feel-good.
For once, [Bbm] I think Dive are finally [Db]
creating [A] that really [Bb] _ intoxicating [Abm] sound that
I think their last [G] album was implying so [Dbm] heavily.
So [E] without a doubt, [Gb] improvements on this [Bb] record in terms of the production,
the writing, the [Db] performances, but _ [Ab] the vocals are still way too [F] impersonal for me.
They're so [A] dejected and [Bbm]
aloof and buried so far down into [D] the mix,
they might as well [Bbm] not even be there sometimes.
In [C] fact, I think when they pop in, they sort of [Dbm] kill the [Ab] momentum of these tracks,
because [B] all of a sudden the [E] great guitar [Db] lines and the [G] [A] fantastic guitar tones
are sort of swapped [Bb] out for these really mumbly, forgettable _ _ _ [Bm] lead vocals.
[E] Especially on the song Bent, or the [Bbm] track that Sky Ferreira [F]
is [Bb] featured,
much of the time [D] the vocals sound like they're just killing [Em] time,
which is kind of confusing, upsetting.
[A] I'm [Cm] not saying the band needs to completely [B] overhaul their sound,
but clearly [F] they put way more [Bb] effort into [Dbm] just upping the [Bb] instrumental chops of [G] this project.
I don't see why they couldn't have [A] upped the vocal [Ab] chops or the vocal [Gb] presence on this [Bbm] project.
I mean, either improve the vocals as you have improved the [G] instrumentals,
or just get rid [E] of the vocals entirely and [Eb] do the instrumental album
that you very clearly [F] want to make.
Or place [Dbm] more instrumental cuts on the project.
I mean, some of the more [C]
instrumentally driven [G] _ cuts on this project are [C] some of my favorites.
Like on the second half of the song Take Your Time,
which [Am] has this really great [Db] _ building wall of guitar chords that are really [Bbm] beautiful, really intense.
The [Am] song Meyer is some quality [Bbm] My Bloody [G] Valentine worship,
[B] where I actually find the vocals a little [G] chilling.
And the track Healthy Moon, this is a [Em] decent song too,
and one of the [B] few moments where the vocals actually have some presence,
_ and they [Abm] carry a good tune,
[D] and they actually add [C] to the dreamy, seductive [Bb] quality of the track.
[C] It's not just [B] the guitars and the [Bb] bass kind of carrying the brunt of the song's appeal.
So there are some songs in the track [Ab] listing that I like.
There are [B] some songs in the [Bbm] track listing that I find merely tolerable.
A few that I'm just completely [Ab] tuned out of,
not only because [G] the vocals are just so drab, [B] so boring.
But at this point on the [F] record, Dive has also, I [Ab] think,
_ with this thing being 17 [C] tracks,
exhausted their very simple basic formula.
Overall, not a bad record [Am] from Dive.
And I think they went to [Db] great lengths to improve a lot of the issues that I had
[G] with their last record, which I just completely ignored,
because I didn't see [F] anything engaging about it at all.
This, to me, [Bb] sonically, was way more [Ab]
flavorful, way more melodic, way more colorful.
But the vocals just do nothing for me whatsoever.
[A] They're kind of like [G] the one of two conjoined twins that's sort of just weak and dying off.
The sound play, [C] the linear grooves, the repetition, the hypnosis, [Bb] the intensity,
all [D] of these things seem to [Dbm] be very vibrant [B] characteristics [A] to this record.
But time and time again, one track [Ab] after another, they suffer at the hand of,
[Bb] okay, we need to do a [A] verse-chorus-verse structure.
We need to have these vocals in [Ab] here.
Like, so many of these [A] songs would probably be so much better just as jammy instrumentals. Feeling!
A light to [Ab] decent [Em] six on this thing.
[C] _ _
Transition!
_ Transition!
[F] Have you given this album a [G] listen?
Did [F] you love it?
Did you hate it?
What would you rate it?
You're the best.
You're the best.
What should I review [G] next?
Anthony Manteno?
_ [C] Dive! _ _
_ [Gb] _ _ _ _ [N] And _ say something really nice to [G] someone down in the comments, _