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‘There is an alternative to capitalism’: after addiction and losing a home to LA wildfires, indie rockers Diiv start again

No stranger to rebuilding after disaster, the US band’s frontman Zachary Cole Smith now sees the entire capitalist project as ripe for reinvention, on a surprisingly upbeat new AG Cook-produced album Zachary Cole Smith used to be a miserable interviewee. He had plenty to say – always generous, always voluble – but spoke with grim introspection, chastising himself and cataloguing his misdeeds with a fervour that engulfed him like his oversized T-shirts. A decade later, the Diiv frontman who materialises on my screen seems well rid of that old self. Suspiciously well rid of it, perhaps. He looks as if he has stepped out of a middle management meeting. “Precisely!” Smith concurs cheerfully, speaking via video call from a back garden in La Cañada, California. “We’re trying to have a visual language, which is fun. We’ve never done that with what we wear.” The singer-guitarist, 41, wears thick

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Why it mattersTechnology

No stranger to rebuilding after disaster, the US band’s frontman Zachary Cole Smith now sees the entire capitalist project as ripe for reinvention, on a surprisingly upbeat new AG Cook-produced album Zachary Cole Smith used to be a miserable interviewee. He had plenty to say – always generous, always voluble – but spoke with grim introspection, chastising himself and cataloguing his misdeeds with a fervour that engulfed him like his oversized T-shirts. A decade later, the Diiv frontman who materialises on my screen seems well rid of that old self. Suspiciously well rid of it, perhaps. He looks as if he has stepped out of a middle management meeting. “Precisely!” Smith concurs cheerfully, speaking via video call from a back garden in La Cañada, California. “We’re trying to have a visual language, which is fun. We’ve never done that with what we wear.” The singer-guitarist, 41, wears thick

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What happened

According to The Guardian’s linked report, ‘There is an alternative to capitalism’: after addiction and losing a home to LA wildfires, indie rockers Diiv start again, No stranger to rebuilding after disaster, the US band’s frontman Zachary Cole Smith now sees the entire capitalist project as ripe for reinvention, on a surprisingly upbeat new AG Cook-produced album Zachary Cole Smith used to be a miserable interviewee. He had plenty to say – always generous, always voluble – but spoke with grim introspection, chastising himself and cataloguing his misdeeds with a fervour that engulfed him like his oversized T-shirts. A decade later, the Diiv frontman who materialises on my screen seems well rid of that old self. Suspiciously well rid of it, perhaps. He looks as if he has stepped out of a middle management meeting. “Precisely!” Smith concurs cheerfully, speaking via video call from a back garden in La Cañada, California. “We’re trying to have a visual language, which is fun. We’ve never done that with what we wear.” The singer-guitarist, 41, wears thick

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Technology coverage for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-08-07T07:00:11+00:00.

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Primary source: ‘There is an alternative to capitalism’: after addiction and losing a home to LA wildfires, indie rockers Diiv start again via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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