It is also DIIV's first project since frontman Zachary Cole Smith checked himself into "long-haul inpatient treatment" for substance abuse in 2017.

[5] Upon release, Deceiver reached number 177 on the US Billboard 200 and received critical acclaim as a drastic departure from DIIV's earlier work.

[11] In an interview with NME in October 2019, bassist Colin Caulfield commented on this period in the band's career, "It definitely felt like an end point...

[13] In the aftermath of Cole’s personal struggles, he "finally accepted what it means to go through treatment and committed," emerging with a renewed focus and perspective.

"We went from playing these songs in the rehearsal space to performing them live at shows, figuring them out in real-time in front of hundreds of people, and approaching them from a broader range of reference points", said Colin.

In an interview with Ben Homewood for NME, the band were asked about the shift from lighter guitars to heavier and dirtier arrangements.

"With a lot of the stuff we wanted to talk about [on Deceiver], themes of catharsis, deception, brutal honesty... the music had to kind of fit that.

In an interview with Ryan Reed of Relix Magazine in the spring of 2020, Smith said: "We’ve been called a ‘shoegaze band’ ever since the beginning, and I don’t ever feel like it fit us.

"[18]The lyrics, which arrived during the final writing stage, focus on deception and “personal responsibility”— raging against climate change deniers (the apocalyptic postpunk surge of “Blankenship”) and reflecting on “youthful sins” (the feedback-laced crawl of “Lorelei”).

"[20] Zachary Cole Smith, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, discussed "Skin Game" in a statement: "It's an imaginary dialogue between two characters, which could either be myself or people I know.

Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone positively reviewed the track, writing that it "recalls classic grunge-era ballads, moving at a brooding, down-tempo pace as the drums thud and the guitars shift between a crackle and a roar.

Frontman Zachary Cole Smith delivers an airy vocal performance over the heavy stomp, slipping in some deft harmonies as well as he confesses, 'Who were you to believe?/Your lying eyes or me?/I won’t let them tie to you/The shit I put you through.

"To me, the nightmare scenario of being trapped alone in a vast arid desert devoid of life is terrifying and hopefully captures that feeling well — as beautiful as that landscape may be."

[23] "Blankenship" was well received by critics, with many noting its hard rock approach in contrast to their past material, which was often labeled as shoegaze or dream pop.

"[28] In a positive review, Jordan Bassett of NME wrote, "Where its predecessor was airy and spaced-out, Deceiver packs some seriously heavy riffs, sliding between monster rockers and moon-eyed grunge ballads that wouldn't sound too out of place on an early Smashing Pumpkins record.

Comparing it to 2016's Is The Is Are and that record's optimistic tones, Rytlewski wrote "Like its predecessor, Deceiver is a portrait of addiction and recovery, but this time it’s not quite as tidy...

He went one to suggest a possible influence toward the album's heavier sounds came from DIIV touring with San Francisco blackgaze band Deafheaven.

"[27] Hayden Goodridge of Paste magazine acknowledged frontman Zachary Cole Smith's experiences in rehab and personal demons as direct inspiration for the album's overall tone.

The record's opener, "Horsehead," immediately thrusts the listener into a swirl of strumming, overdriven guitars revolving around Cole's ghostly vocals...

The wider, dynamic sound texture across Deceiver is one of the most apparent improvements from past records with a clear, crisp approach that avoids sterility.

He went on to write "It's dark subject matter — which makes grunge's famously gloomy sonic palette a particularly good fit for a record that's as beautiful as it is bleak.