Watching the world spiral out of control through your smartphone screen can be a confounding, terrifying and maddening experience, to say the least. Stray from the Path know this, which is why the Long Island rapcore outfit have just weighed in on the topic through their new standalone single, “Kubrick Stare.”
The song premiered this morning (February 5th), and it marks Stray from the Path’s first release through new label home SharpTone Records. The noise-jarred, but danceable tune was tracked with longtime collaborator Will Putney (Better Lovers, Fit for an Autopsy), and it herks-and-jerks its way through the speakers as if Botch were covering the Knack’s “My Sharona.”
Vocalist Drew Dijorio, meanwhile, raps and barks his way through a series of lines about how unhealthy and traumatizing it is to see scenes of real-life horror and violence unfold every time we check our phones (“Reality fucks you up but there’s no other way through”)
“Every day, people on the Internet see the craziest things they’ve ever seen in their lives,” guitarist Tom Williams said in a statement. “Sometimes, it’s hard to feel seriously about these atrocities because we see them all day. You’re so numb to it that you’re just staring blankly.”
He continues: “It’s unfortunately become normal, and it’s driving us crazy. Hence, the ‘Kubrick Stare’ reference — which was a tactic Stanley Kubrick used to show a character losing his mind. We’re locked into our phones, and we probably look like Jack looking out of the window in The Shining.”
You can check out the group’s video for the Jack Torrance-channeling song, which itself features a NSFW-but-fictionalized stabbing scene, up above.
Stray from the Path are set to hit the road next week, supporting Spiritbox’s European headline tour. That trek likewise features Periphery, and you can find the date breakdown over here.