DIIV’s “Skin Game” Is a Hummable First Glimpse of Their Forthcoming Album, Deceiver

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DIIV’s “Skin Game” Is a Hummable First Glimpse of Their Forthcoming Album, Deceiver

“Things have to get worse before they can get better” seems to be DIIV’s M.O. for the band’s forthcoming third album (and first since 2016’s Is The Is Are), Deceiver. And prerelease track “Skin Game” is an excellent first taste before the album’s Oct. 4 release via Captured Tracks, mixing weighty guitar riffs and a hook of slick vocals for a cathartic peek at personal pain.

Lead vocalist-guitarist Zachary Cole Smith describes taking the intimacy of addiction and making it universal in “Skin Game”:

It’s an imaginary dialogue between two characters, which could either be myself or people I know. I spent six months in several different rehab facilities at the beginning of 2017. I was living with other addicts. Being a recovering addict myself, there are a lot of questions like, “Who are we? What is this disease?” Our last record was about recovery in general, but I truthfully didn’t buy in. I decided to live in my disease instead. “Skin Game” looks at where the pain comes from. I’m looking at the personal, physical, emotional, and broader political experiences feeding into the cycle of addiction for millions of us.

Smith and his cohorts—guitarist Andrew Bailey, bassist Colin Caulfield and drummer Ben Newman—recorded Deceiver in Los Angeles earlier this year. The group recruited producer Sonny Diperri to expand and enrich the group’s sonics, the perfect setting for Deceiver’s storytelling.

DIIV have also announced a two-month tour kicking off this October at the Desert Daze Festival.

Listen to “Skin Game” and check out the album art, tracklist and DIIV’s tour dates below. You can preorder the album here.

Deceiver Album Art:

DiivDeceiverLead.jpg

Deceiver Tracklist:
01. Horsehead
02. Like Before You Were Born
03. Skin Game
04. Between Tides
05. Taker
06. For the Guilty
07. The Spark
08. Lorelai
09. Blankenship
10. Acheron

DIIV 2019 Tour Dates:

October
11 — Perris, Calif. @ Desert Daze Festival
12 — Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Rebel Lounge
14 — Austin, Texas @ Mohawk
15 — Houston, Texas @ Satellite
16 — Dallas, Texas @ Canton Hall
18 — Chicago, Ill. @ Logan Square Auditorium
19 — Detroit, Mich. @ Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
20 — Cleveland, Ohio @ Phantasy
22 — Boston, Mass. @ Paradise
23 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ Underground Arts
24 — Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Warsaw
27 — Washington, District of Columbia @ Black Cat

December
05 — San Diego, Calif. @ Belly Up Tavern
06 — San Luis Obispo, Calif. @ SLO Guild Hall
07 — Santa Cruz, Calif. @ Catalyst
08 — San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore
10 — Seattle, Wash. @ Crocodile
11 — Portland, Ore. @ Revolution Hall
13 — Sonoma, Calif. @ Sonoma Redwood Barn

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