DIIV first came onto my radar back in 2013 when, during their time at SXSW, frontman Zachary Cole Smith went on a bit of an anti-SXSW rant online, criticizing the overly corporate vibe of the festival. While I will admit to being a little underwhelmed by the show I took in from DIIV that year, I was nevertheless impressed by the bluntness and honesty of his critique.
Fast forward more than a decade and Smith and his bandmates are still commenting on the overly corporate, consumerist nature of our culture while also having a bit of fun. For the band’s latest album, Frog in Boiling Water, DIIV has crafted a mythology of sorts centred around “Soul-net,” the mysterious marketing firm-meets-new age cult (with a side of conspiracy theory-fueled paranoia) that the band has supposedly partnered up with.
The Soul-net concept factored significantly into the band’s live show, with a series of videos interspersed throughout the set adding a nice thematic through-line to their performance. These videos either pushed the ideology of Soul-net (one promised us not just a show but a life-changing, transformative experience) or promoted the band’s “endorsement project,” a tongue-in-cheek shot at the confluence of art, commerce, and politics that saw Smith appearing onscreen to announce, “I wholeheartedly endorse this product or political candidate.” It was an effective and clever element of the show, with the videos adding an absurdist, satirical touch that reminded me of the Veridian Dynamics commercials from Better Off Ted.
Also on the bill were Full Body 2 and Horse Jumper of Love, each of whom put their own spin on the shoegaze sound with impressive and memorable sets – while Full Body 2 switched things up by adding electronic interludes into the mix, Horse Jumper of Love leaned into a moodier, slowcore-inspired sound that brought to mind the likes of Spain and Karate at times.
While that SXSW performance I saw back in 2013 may not have blown me away at the time, I’m happy to report that in 2024, DIIV are an impressive force in concert. This is, of course, entirely unsurprising – after four albums and a decade-plus of live shows, including a recent stint opening for Depeche Mode, DIIV certainly knows how to put on a show, delivering a stellar set that included highlights such as “Brown Paper Bag”, “In Amber” and “Doused.”
