DIIV return with their fifth album, eleven tracks of guitar-driven shoegaze that lean harder into texture than melody. The band's New York roots show in the urban grit beneath the reverb, think overcast skies rather than sunlit haze. Guitars churn and overlap, drums keep a steady motorik push, and Zachary Cole Smith's vocals stay buried just deep enough that you catch fragments rather than full lines.
The middle stretch, "Trillions" through "Evangelizer", finds the band at their most patient, letting single chords ring out over sparse bass lines before the distortion kicks back in. "Idiot In The Sky" closes things out with nearly six minutes of slow-building noise that never quite resolves. It's not an easy listen, and it doesn't try to be. Fans of their earlier work will recognize the approach, though this feels darker and less interested in hooks. If you want shoegaze that prioritizes atmosphere over accessibility, this delivers.
