The Best Zoomergaze Has To Offer
The rise in popularity of shoegaze among Gen Z music listeners is perhaps one of the most shaping trends in alternative rock in recent years. The number of young guitarists picking up Jazzmasters, playing into heavy distortion, massive reverbs, and the loudest amplification they can get their hands on has influenced the sound of new music to the degree that the folks at Squier guitars owe their pensions to J Mascis and Kevin Shields. This “Zoomergaze” movement, as it has been dubbed, has an unending number of new albums being released, from direct My Bloody Valentine descendants like Quannnic and Julie to more indirectly influenced acts like Fleshwater and Jane Remover, which showcases the breadth of this sound.
One such name that has been making waves for several years now has been DIIV. Teaming up with PC Music founder and Charli XCX producer A.G. Cook, the band delivers a strong entry to this new sound in their 5th studio album, ZIRP! The team crafts a record based around this core shoegaze sound, and pulls in a lot of the hyperpop sound Cook has been known for to craft an album that puts forward a strong new offering for the band.
From a songwriting standpoint, the band puts forward a record that feels in line with most shoegaze music. The lyrics tend to favor socioeconomic themes, with back-to-back tracks The Crash’s “Everybody loses when the shareholders win,” and Trillions’ “Cause I win, And you lose,” both being about the social stressors of economic disparity. The album opener, “The Fountain,” seems to bear a similar message, albeit more subtle, where an unnamed subject of some Sisyphean task is drinking from a poisoned fountain of youth.
Where the album shines is with the sonic material present across the record. There’s a lot of synth-led bleeps and bloops–perhaps the work of Cook–that add some wonderful texture over every track. The meat and potatoes of this record is in the guitar playing, which is just plain fun. The interplay between Zachary Cole-Smith and Andrew Bailey’s guitars is very inspired, with some of the best riffs of any new rock record recently. “The Crash” and “My Star” are particularly strong examples, with Bailey’s lead guitar parts having this buzz-saw fuzz tone that fits the band’s sound incredibly well. Even without electric guitars, the band fares well, with the more hyperpop-centered tracks like “Trillions” and “Evangelizer.” The band has crafted a well-rounded and ever-changing album here.
With there being so much new shoegaze being released, it’s hard to know what’s worth paying attention to. A lot of the albums coming out are great, and a lot of them are not quite as impressive. ZIRP! by DIIV is certainly one of the records worth listening to for any young alternative rock fans.
