Hot off the heels of their critically acclaimed 2023 LP Freak Frequency, Chicago art rock favorites Stuck (David Algrim, Tim Green, Greg Obis) return with not one but two new tracks: “Deep Tunnel” b/w “AITA?”
The A-side “Deep Tunnel” finds Stuck reveling in their more bombastic tendencies, allowing a sharp dissonant tone to ring out over their driving and, at times, deconstructed rhythm section. According to lyricist / songwriter Greg Obis, “The song was inspired by a news article about Chicago’s strained Deep Tunnel Project, a system of reservoirs conceived in the 1960’s to alleviate flooding. The city is, after all, built on a swamp. Rainfall in recent summers has overwhelmed the system, leading to the flooding of homes across Chicagoland and spilling sewage out into Lake Michigan.” Obis uses this weighty topic to expound on a deeper feeling of hopelessness in the face of global warming.
On the other hand, “AITA?” functions as a tongue-and-cheek counterpoint, flowing straight out of the feedback-laden conclusion of a track dealing with a seemingly insurmountable climate catastrophe, straight into taking on the anxiety-addled micro dramas of a spurned Redditor. Where “Deep Tunnel” sounds like a grim assessment of a dire situation, “AITA?” is a playful yet succinctly-crafted punk song that finds Obis playing the character of an increasingly outraged internet persona to ask the simple yet essential question: is everyone else the problem, or is it me? As always, the band gives life to this message with their tactfully dissonant melodies, tangled-mess guitars and suffocatingly tight rhythm section.
The band have also announced that they will be heading over to the UK & Europe for the first time on a mammoth run of dates. Tickets can be purchased here.
Tour Dates:
Thu. April 4 – Merleyn, Nijmegen (NL)*
Fri. April 5 – Vera, Groningen (NL)*
Sat. April 6 – OCCII, Amsterdam (NL)*
Sun. April 7 – Farrm, Hasselt (NL)
Tue. April 9 – The New Cross, London (UK)
Wed. April 10 – Peer Hat, Manchester (UK)
Thu. April 11 – Lubber Fiend, Newcastle (UK)
Fri. April 12 – Magbate, Leeds (UK)
Sat. April 13 – Nottingham @ The Old Cold Store
Sun. April 14 – Rough Trade, Bristol (UK)
Tue. April 16 – Supersonic, Paris (FR)
Wed. April 17 – Le Trokson, Lyon (FR)
Thu. April 18 – Gaswerk, Winterthur (CH)
Fri. April 19 – Horst Klub, Kreuzlingen (CH)
Sat. April 20 – Il Fantasma Dei Briganti, Roccasparvera (IT)
Sun. April 21 – Freakout, Bologna (IT)
Wed. April 23 – Chanel Zero, Ljubljana (AT)
Thur. April 24 – Pink Whale, Bratislava (SK)
Thu. April 25 – Kapu, Linz (AT)
Fri. April 26 – X Berg, Halle (DE)
Sat. April – 27 – Schokoladen, Berlin (DE)
*w/ Dead Finks
