Diiv - Oshin (CD)

Well, the band formerly known as Dive are here with their debut album, which I presume was formerly known as ‘Ocean’. This is that guy Zach from Beach Fossils in his other band which sounds, er, quite a lot like Beach Fossils. That kind of sentimental nostalgic dreampop vibe with Real Estate-esque creamy melodic pleasantness and slow, unlaboured pacing that feels kind of krauty in places. It may be a little vanilla, but it’s fresh vanilla straight from the pod and it makes everything else a little bit more delicious.

I really like his guitar playing style actually, it’s quite casual and minimal, picking out chiming little Johnny Marr-esque melodies and letting the reverb do all the work, so even though everything is a little bit blurry the ethereal, echoing tones are never crowded or confused. I think I like this best when they’re in full-on pop mode, like the glistening early ‘90s vibes of ‘Follow’, falling somewhere between Echo & The Bunnymen and Ride, maybe of a touch of Slowdive there too. There’s wall to wall laid-back classic-sounding dreampop atmospheres throughout this record, it should make a lot of you people very happy.