Following a stealth announcement delivered to fans via a physical hotline mailing list, DIIV have officially announced their fifth studio album, ZIRP!, arriving October 30th via Fantasy Recordings. Alongside the announcement, the band released lead single “The Fountain” following an exclusive interview with Zane Lowe.
Produced by British pop architect A. G. Cook (Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek), ZIRP! marks a bold evolution into what the band call “The New Alternative”, a genre tailored for the algorithmic, VC-funded landscape of modern music. Named after the zero interest rate policies (ZIRP) that birthed failed startups and digital atomization, the 11-track record expands on the socio-political themes of 2024’s Frog In Boiling Water, transforming subjects like societal breakdown and streaming culture into sparkling, arena-ready pop melodies.
Lead single “The Fountain” pairs the shoegaze squall of DIIV’s past with a jolting, rhythmic drive. Speaking on the collaboration and studio process, producer A. G. Cook shared:
When DIIV initially approached me, it was in the spirit of destroying & rebuilding their demos, Screamadelica-style, into a finished product, but that hybrid, half-remix approach felt completely wrong to me. I became a bit obsessed with their live sound, and insisted on recording live drums before most of the songs were even finished. We spent a lot of time recording intricate guitar parts with specific guitar pedals, and as little time as possible doing anything on a computer, at least by my standards. After a few rounds of that, ZIRP! emerged as a concept, and a sort of utopian, dystopian mantra.
Ahead of the album’s release, DIIV (Zachary Cole Smith, Andrew Bailey, Colin Caulfield, and Ben Newman) will appear at Balaclava Fest in Brazil on September 27th, followed by North American support dates with Interpol in October. Their autumn schedule also includes a show with Basement at Los Angeles’ Shrine Expo Hall on October 20th, alongside festival slots at Pitchfork Music Festival in London and Paris, and Sonic City in Belgium.
The post DIIV Announce Fifth Album ‘ZIRP!’ Produced by A. G. Cook, Share Lead Single ‘The Fountain’ appeared first on Indie is not a genre.
