Over the last decade, DIIV have established themselves as one of rock music’s most fascinating bands, exploring new textures while pushing their songcraft forward in a way that continues to draw in larger audiences worldwide. They combine beauty and noise to the point of approaching a lush oblivion—a searing sound building on elements from dream-pop luminaries like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Smashing Pumpkins. It’s becoming increasingly hard to establish a distinctive approach within popular music in general, and yet throughout their discography, DIIV’s sound and emotional tenor are unmistakably theirs.
Emerging from the fertile early-2010s Brooklyn DIY music scene, DIIV quickly proved themselves as one of the city’s most prominent live acts and have since widened their aesthetic with every successive release. Over the course of three albums, they have incorporated the driving gait of British guitar pop, the minimalist structures and Motorik rhythms of German psychedelia, metal’s lush fury, and the sonic immersion of shoegaze into their inviting world of sound.
Possessing a bracing and immersive live presence, DIIV are firmly situated within a deep legacy of boundary-pushing rock bands as they continue charting their own path. Their influence can be felt across a new generation of artists pursuing their own punishing bliss, and has left its mark on shoegaze and guitar-driven music as DIIV themselves continue to cement their legacy as one of North America’s most formidable rock acts
SASAMI
Blood On The Silver Screen
Out March 7, 2025
Two Sasami’s exist in harmony. First is Sasami Ashworth, the conservatory-trained classical French horn player, producer, and composer—an artist with a studious approach to craft. And then there is all-caps SASAMI, the fearless performer and protagonist of her three increasingly audacious albums. For Blood On the Silver Screen, these two sides fused for her most epic and realized music to date: the all-out Sasami pop record. “This album is all about learning and respecting the craft of pop songwriting, about relenting to illogical passion, obsession, and guiltless pleasure,” Sasami says. “It’s about leaning into the chaos of romance and sweeping devotion—romanticism to the point of self-destruction.”
After establishing herself with the poised melancholia of her eponymous 2019 debut, Sasami embraced volume and control on 2022’s Squeeze, but her goal on Blood On the Silver Screen was to speak her truth with conviction by singing. Working with producers Jenn Decilveo and Rostam, with Sasami as sole writer, each Blood On the Silver Screen track viscerally captures a different thread of love, sex, power, and embodiment. “Pop music is like fuel,” Sasami says. “It’s just invigorating.”
She came to that fact while training to tour Squeeze—shows that required her to run around with her Mockingbird guitar, mosh, leap off amps—at the gym. Sasami found herself fascinated by the high-octane music that sustains physical activity. “The gym became this place where I would exercise and be studying the music,” Sasami says. Eschewing today’s pop zeitgeist, Sasami gravitated towards late aughts and 2010s pop a la Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, plus Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, and Sia. She was influenced by modern country storytelling, mixing vulnerability with humor, and the mood board also included Prince, Japanese city pop, and the stadium-sized, denim-clad iconography of Bruce Springsteen.
“I wanted to go all out with this album,” Sasami sats. “I wanted to, in my tenderness and emotionality, have the bravery to undertake something as epic as making a pop record about love. I hope it makes people feel empowered and embodied, too. It’s important to not box yourself in.”
Blood On The Silver Screen Tracklisting
1. Slugger
2. Just Be Friends
3. I’ll Be Gone
4. Love Makes You Do Crazy Things
5. In Love With A Memory (featuring Clairo)
6. Possessed
7. Figure it Out
8. For The Weekend
9. Honeycrash
10. Hom Interlude
11. Nothing But A Sad Face
12. Lose It All
13. The Seed
Glixen
Eluding all expectations of the current alternative rock space, Glixen come from Phoenix, Arizona and have taken their sound coast to coast on tour in North America. As influences, lead vocalist/guitarist Aislinn Ritchie cites My Bloody Valentine, No Doubt, and T.A.T.U. In the same breath, also citing heavier acts such as HUM and My Vitriol. Ritchie founded Glixen in 2020 and later added the talents of lead guitarist Esteban Santana, drummer Keire Johnson, and bassist Sonia Garcia.
Glixen released their debut EP She Only Said via Julias War Records on August 11th, 2023. The lead single Splendor sets the tone of the EP by masterfully capturing the swirling ambiance of 90s rock, ethereal pop vocals, and fuzzed out walls of guitar all wrapped up in a lacey white ribbon. She Only Said is a cathartic anthem that feels like glitter and thorns down the listeners spine.
