Guide
I put this on expecting the same hazy wall of guitar DIIV has been building since “Oshin”, an album from 2012 which I still enjoy today. For the first thirty seconds that’s exactly what I got. Whispered vocals buried under reverb, guitars drifting like fog over a highway. Then it snaps. The rhythm section locks in tight and precise, almost glitchy, and the whole thing switches into something I did not expect from this band: a song built for a room full of people jumping, not a bedroom full of headphones.
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The Lyrics
Zachary Cole Smith sounds like he’s talking in riddles here. “They’re drinking from the fountain of youth” turns into “there’s poison in the fountain of youth” by the end, and that flip is the whole point. It’s a song about tearing something down because it stopped working and starting over anyway, even when starting over hurts. Knowing what his family went through last year, losing their home in the Altadena fire, makes those lines land heavier than they would on paper alone.
The A.G. Cook Effect
The A.G. Cook production credit had me bracing for something glossy and overproduced, a hyperpop sheen slapped onto shoegaze bones. That’s not what happened. Cook apparently pushed the band toward their live sound instead of away from it, recording drums before songs were even finished and leaning on actual guitar pedals over studio trickery. You can hear that restraint. The song still ends on a synth pulse and a woozy lead line that feels genuinely new for DIIV, but it earns that moment instead of bolting it on.
Where It Sits in Their Catalog
My Bloody Valentine is still the obvious reference point, it probably always will be for this band, but “The Fountain” has a sharper pop instinct than anything on “Frog in Boiling Water” from 2014. Tighter hooks, a chorus you can actually hold onto. It doesn’t abandon the murk DIIV built their name on, it just lets more light through the cracks.
Final Take
If this is the opening track for “ZIRP!”, the record coming in October, it’s a strong signal that this band still has room to grow without losing what made them worth following in the first place.
Get The Vinyl
Listen To “The Fountain” By DIIV
Outside of work, I'm rarely without a book in hand. Getting lost in a good story is one of my favourite ways to unwind. But the moments I treasure most are the ones spent with my close circle of friends, sharing a laugh and making memories that stick with me long after the night ends.
In my writing, I try to bring that same passion to every piece. I love introducing readers to new sounds that move them, and I always aim to bring my own voice into a world of music journalism that never stops changing.
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