Osheaga, Day 3 | DIIV, shoegaze and post-punk in the rules of art

DIIV, a Brooklyn band that has been around since the early 2010s, could be said to be in the second division. Prized by connoisseurs of shoegaze and post-punk, DIIV performed at Osheaga and kept us glued to the Verte stage.

Nothing new under the blazing sun, perhaps, but it is always a pleasure to discover late in the day a group that has fully mastered its references and is capable of telling a 50-minute story without any loss of interest on the part of the audience.

There is no real frontman in this formation, the singer and bassist Caulin Caufield does his job quite adequately but clearly does not have the ascendancy of his colleague Zachary Cole Smith. Obviously, the guitarist is the main designer of the music proposed here, the central musician of this American quartet accompanied by two guitars, a bass, a drum kit and electronic complements that enrich the textures generated by the guitar pedals.

It’s heavy, it’s textured, it’s hypnotic, it’s unkempt like its leader. And it’s really good. We suggest you listen to the recent album released by Fantasy Records, Frog in Boiling Water. Let’s not see any contempt for Quebec’s amphibians here.

Photo by Benoit Rousseau