Produced by Chris Coady and written by DIIV (pronounced Dive), Frog in Boiling Water, the band’s fourth full-length LP is a collection of snapshots that explores the brutal realities of end-stage capitalism and overwhelming technological advance. Across 10 dark and dazzling tracks, DIIV documents the collapse from various angles with unusual sensitivity and depth of purpose while expanding their grand, hypnotic shoegaze, to create a transportive, sensual work of hope, beauty and renewal.

"Musically, we were excited to explore new territory sonically. We collected and cataloged cassette tapes and made tape loops, used samples, weird guitar tunings, crude synthesizers. It’s the least “genre” record we’ve ever made and we’re excited to show everyone the musical world we’ve found."

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: After 2019's 'Deceiver', DIIV found themselves amongst a new chapter in their career. Whilst DIIV had always toured as a band, this was the first time one of their records was written and recorded as a fully fledged outfit. What resulted was their best album to date. A monolithic modern shoegaze classic that would have even Kevin Shields quaking in his pedal tapping shoes.

Now 5 years later, DIIV have returned with 'Frog In Boiling Water'. Once again written and recorded by Zachary Cole Smith, Colin Caulfield, Andrew Bailey and Benjamin Newman, 'Frog In Boiling Water' continues to build on the groundwork left by 'Deceiver'. Opener 'In Amber' is an all-encompassing shoegaze hammer, whilst 'Brown Paper Bag' has shades of Duster and MBV. The acoustic led 'Everyone Out' echoes Sonic Youth's 'Shadow Of A Doubt', whereas the ominous 'Raining On Your Pillow' and the textually lush 'Little Birds' add real depth to the LP. Lyrically, we also see Smith tackling ideas of end-stage capitalism and the overwhelming reality of technological advance - which is perfectly captured in the looming and swirling 'Soul-net'. This, coupled with all these incredible textures and sonics, easily makes this DIIV's best sounding and most complete album to date.

As a long-serving fan of DIIV, it's been such a gratifying and special few years seeing them blossom within this new era. 'Frog In Boiling Water' is everything I could have hoped to be after 'Deceiver' and further proves what a special band DIIV truly are - enjoy!

TRACK LISTING

1. In Amber
2. Brown Paper Bag
3. Raining On Your Pillow
4. Frog In Boiling Water
5. Everyone Out
6. Reflected
7. Somber The Drums
8. Little Birds
9. Soul-net
10. Fender On The Freeway

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Live recording of the one-night-only DIIV Unplugged show at Murmrr Theatre in Brooklyn on August 17th, 2017. Mixed by Jarvis Taveniere, mastered by Alex DeTurk. Includes unique arrangements of songs off DIIV's first two albums (Oshin and Is The Is Are), as well as covers of My Bloody Valentine and Alex G

TRACK LISTING

1. Druun
2. Past Lives
3. Human
4. When You Sleep
5. Dopamine
6. Hollow
7. Loose Ends
8. How Long Have You Known
9. Under The Sun
10. Earthboy
11. Wait

Before Oshin, there was ‘Sometime,’ ‘Human,’ and ‘Geist’... In 2011, a newly formed DIIV (known, at the time, as ‘DIVE’) created instant vibrations in the blog-world with their impressionistic debut single ‘Sometime’; finding its way onto the esteemed pages of Pitchfork a mere matter of weeks after the group’s formation. They quickly followed it up with the equally great ‘Human’ and ‘Geist’, with the latter featuring a b-side cover of Kurt Cobain’s “Bambi Slaughter.”

These very first offerings from DIIV chemically fused the reminiscent with the half-remembered, building a musical world out of old-air and new breeze. These are songs that remind us of love in all it’s earthly perfections and perversions, and work that ultimately put DIIV on the map, leading the way for the band to become a central influence on the sound and aesthetic of the 2010s Brooklyn indie music scene.

Now, to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of their seminal debut album Oshin, all three 7”s will be repressed for the very first time since their original release.

DIIV: “Looking back, these 7”s were really the thing that propelled the band into existence and pushed us to realize Oshin in the first place. This type of retrospective project wouldn’t feel complete without them.”

TRACK LISTING

SOMETIME
A. Sometime
B. Corvalis

HUMAN
A. Human
B. Big Joke

GEIST
A. Geist
B. Bambi Slaughter

On June 26 2012, DIIV released their seminal debut record, Oshin . The album received critical acclaim from Pitchfork granting it “Best New Music,” NME ranked it in the Top 10 among its “Albums of the Year,” and it positioned DIIV as a central influence on the sound and aesthetic of the 2010s Brooklyn indie music scene.

Beginning in 2011 as the nom-de-plume of Z. Cole Smith, musical provo - cateur and frontman of the atmospheric and autumnally-charged four- piece, DIIV created instant vibrations in the blog-world with their impressionistic debut single “Sometime.” DIIV craft a sound that is at once familial and frost-bitten. Indebted to classic kraut, dreamy Creation- records psychedelia, and the primitive-crunch of late-80s Seattle, the band walk a divisive yet perfectly fused patch of classic-underground influence on their debut LP.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary, this limited edition 2xLP combines the Oshin tracklist with the original Oshin demos recorded by Smith, and two live cuts recorded at storied Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium - including the never before released “Yuk”.

The expansive packaging includes a craft paper die-cut widespine housed in a clear printed PVC sleeve, vinyl pressed on blue marble (to commemorate the very first limited edition pressing of Oshin on Captured Tracks), a DIIV “Fuck The World” poster, and a retrospective booklet with archival photos, reflections from each bandmember, new writing from the original “Oshin” poet, Madeline Jones, and exanded liners by Shaad D’Souza

TRACK LISTING

LP1:
1. (Druun)
2. Past Lives
3. Human
4. Air Conditioning
5. How Long Have You Known
6. Wait
7. Earthboy
8. (Druun Pt II)
9. Follow
10. Sometime
11. Oshin (Subsume)
12. Doused 13. Home

LP2:
1. (Druun) (Demo)
2. Past Lives (Demo)
3. Human (Demo)
4. Air Conditioning (Demo)
5. How Long Have You Known (Demo)
6. Wait (Demo)
7. Earthboy (Demo)
8. (Druun Pt II) (Demo)
9. Follow (Demo)
10. Sometime (Demo)
11. Oshin (Subsume) (Demo)
12. Doused (Demo)
13. Home (Demo)
14. Yuk (Live At Shea Sta - Dium 07-29-11)
15. Sometime (Live At Shea Stadium 11-29-11 )

Occupying the corners between fuzzed-out shoegaze bliss, troubadour poetry, and metallic catharsis, DIIV –– Zachary Cole Smith [lead vocals, guitar], Andrew Bailey [guitar], Colin Caulfield [vocals, bass], and Ben Newman [drums] —— personally inhabit the recesses of their third fulllength album, Deceiver. A whirlwind brought DIIV here. On the heels of 2012’s Oshin, the group delivered the critical and fan favorite Is the Is Are in 2016. Praise came from The Guardian, Spin, Rolling Stone and more. Pitchfork’s audience voted Is the Is Are one of the Top 50 Albums of 2016, as the outlet dubbed it “gorgeous.” Simultaneously, frontman Zachary Cole Smith faced down seemingly dormant demons, and the momentum stalled.

Two years after embarking on a program of recovery, Smith has emerged with a clear head and renewed focus. For the first time, DIIV lived with songs on the road. During a 2018 tour with Deafheaven, they performed eight new compositions as the bulk of the set. The tunes progressed as the players did. By the time DIIV entered 64 Sound to record with producer Sonny Diperri, the band felt a certain confidence.

It’s evident on first single “Skin Game,” which gallops forth on a clean guitar riff before unfolding into a hypnotic hook offset by an off-kilter rhythm and hummable solo. “Being a recovering addict myself,” he says, “there are a lot of questions like, ‘Who are we? What is this disease?’ ‘Skin Game’ looks at where the pain comes from – the personal, physical, emotional, and broader political experiences feeding into the cycle of addiction for millions of us.”

A trudging groove and wailing guitar punctuate a lulling apology on the magnetically melancholic “Taker.” For Smith, it’s “about taking responsibility for your lies, their consequences, and the entire experience.” Meanwhile, the ominous bass line and crawling beat of “Blankenship” devolve into schizophrenic string bends with the vitriolic lyrics. The seven-minute “Acheron” offers a dynamic denouement, flowing through a hulking beat guided under gusts of lyrical fretwork and a distorted heavy apotheosis.

“We’re proud of this, because we earned it as a band,” Cole says. “I’m really happy and grateful just to do it in the first place. I can see the change. It’s not a record full of solutions, but I’m living my life. I’ve examined the consequences of my lies; I’ve got something to say now.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Deceiver' is by far the most cohesive and thematically consistent DIIV release yet in a succinct, yet superb catalogue. Swathes of distortion and echoing guitars are expertly laid down before Cole Smith's hypnotic vocals make their mark, coalescing into a lysergic, shoegazing maelstrom.

TRACK LISTING

1. Horsehead
2. Like Before You Were Born
3. Skin Game
4. Honey
5. Taker
6. For The Guilty
7. Lorelai
8. The Spark
9. Blankenship
10. Acheron