“Diiv return from the chaos to throw their hat into the ring for 2016's finest rock release”
“DIIV's long-awaited follow-up to Oshin is not the radical break in style that Zachary Cole Smith had promised: While it's mostly about getting high and it sounds exactly like DIIV, it finds more interesting ways to do both of those things. Call it Requiem for a Dream-pop, dedicated to a gorgeous yet unglamorous portrayal of addiction.”
“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.”
“A junkie, a cliché, a hipster, a brat. Maybe a precociously talented songwriter, or maybe just a heroin-addled Kurt Cobain wannabe destined for failure. Zachary Cole Smith (who goes by Cole) has endured plenty of mudslinging since forming DIIV as a no-frills punk band in 2011, and releasing narcotic debut ‘Oshin’ in 2012. The behaviour of him and his bandmates since the record came out hasn’t help”
“As soon as one shoegaze revival ends, another one starts up. While many in the latest generation are content to pile on tons of effects to make up for bland songwriting, Brooklyn pedal-board hoarders DIIV's second album finds them eager to prove there's more to them than ambience. Many of the songs on Is the Is Are seem to deal with frontman Zachary Cole Smith's 2013 arrest for possession of a nar”
“Brooklyn's DIIV improve upon their hazy, krautrock-ish sound with their latest full-length album.”
