DIIV – “Kid”

One of the most potentially fascinating albums on the docket right now is ZIRP!, the new one that Brooklyn fuzz-guitar vets DIIV recorded with PC Music co-founder and Charli XCX collaborator A. G. Cook. At least in their press materials, DIIV are framing the record as part of a "New Alternative" movement that also includes acts like Slayyyter, Eartheater, and Turnstile. Sure! Why not! Let's make it happen! We already got one taste of how this version of DIIV might sound on lead single "The Fountain." Today, we get a different take on it.DIIV's new song "Kid" doesn't sound much like "The Fountain." It also doesn't have that much in common with the sounds that we tend to associate with either DIIV or A. G. Cook. That's encouraging! It means that ZIRP! might be the rare record that truly switches things up from track to track. "Kid" is a tender acoustic song that slowly builds toward a fuzz-crash finale. The track also has plenty of A. G. Cook touches — crunchy hi-fi electronic drums, layers of cotton-candy synth. Those elements all work really nicely together, and I'm curious to hear how this song and "The Fountain" both fit into the greater whole of the album. On "Kid," Zachary Cole Smith sings, "Everyone is a little kid/ Hiding from your feelings or something you did... Take a breath, are you having fun?/ You were someone’s little baby, just like everyone." In the Jaxon Whittington-directed video, we see the members of DIIV playing in a set that's been made to look like an audience. Appropriately enough, the clip was shot by Smith's young son Roy and Roy's friend Julian, and we hear little chirps from them throughout. Check it out below.ZIRP! is out 10/30 on Fantasy. Pre-order it here. I just finished reading Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber's upcoming memoir Weird Era: How Pitchfork Changed Music Forever, and Zachary Cole Smith plays a role in that. I'll be very, very curious to see how it's received.