“I saw an ad online/ With a man in his prime/ ‘You can change your life/ For a limited time’/ My life was in decline.” These are the dystopian opening lines of Stuck’s new single “Instakill.” The Chicago post-punks are announcing their new album Optimizer today, and they’re zoning in on the weird corners of the internet.
About “Instakill,” Greg Orbis explains:
I found myself in a bad way in 2024. Reeling with financial stress and a deep sense of precarity with my career, I was desperate for answers. This led me down a deep hole of online self-help huckster gurus. Charitably, I think that many of these people mean well and a few genuinely have good advice. But even the best of them are trying to prey on your insecurities and circumstances in order to sell you a course or a health supplement, which I think is both dark and funny. “Instakill” uses these huckster gurus to explore the futility of constant self-optimization. Is it possible to change who you are?
Optimizer was recorded with engineer and producer Andrew Oswald at Electrical Audio. “Instakill” is paired with a Zack Shorrosh-directed music video that practically turns the song into a short film; watch below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Totally Vexed”
02 “Instakill”
03 “Sicko”
04 “Deadlift”
05 “Less Is More”
06 “Fire, Man”
07 “Net Negative”
08 “It Isn’t”
09 “Punchline”
10 “GG”
TOUR DATES:
04/03 – Detroit, MI @ Outer Limits
04/04 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
04/05 – Montreal, QC @ L’Esco
04/07 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
04/08 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
04/09 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts
04/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Warehouse on Watts – Cambridge Hall
04/12 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
Optimizer is out 3/27 via Exploding In Sound. Pre-order it here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source stereogum.com ’
