The ‘best band you’ve never heard of’ has finally entered the future; Saint Slumber released their first single of 2023, “RUN&HIDE.”
After six long months of silence, we were so excited to see this song pop up on our Release Radar–and we were even more excited to have a chance to connect with Joshua Perna, Saint Slumber’s vocalist, and chat a little bit about what the band has been up to.
Read on and get reacquainted with our favorite New Jersey kings.
Check Out “RUN&HIDE” by Saint Slumber on Spotify:
Real talk: does Saint Slumber “RUN&HIDE” from the winter?
Like many northern species, it seems that Saint Slumber tends to hibernate during the winter. This isn’t surprising, considering how busy they are the rest of the year.
Let’s look at their recent history–
The last year has seen the Jersey kings completing a number of collaborations, including the all-too-relatable “Weirdo” with LOWBORN back in November, as well as a personal favorite, “Hole In My Head,” with King Leer the month prior. Earlier collaborations have seen them working with the likes of 8 Graves, Luxtides, Adventure Club, and more.
Over the summer, the band went on to perform quite a few live shows–
You may remember the last time we caught up with Saint Slumber, which was after their June 2022 show at Milkboy in Philadelphia. This was their first live show in a post-COVID world, and we chatted quite a bit about what that meant for them.
Then, in July, Saint Slumber performed at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, in support of brooding pop act pure xtc.
By August, the New Jersey kings found themselves back in Philadelphia, where they coincidentally shared The Fillmore with countless naked people, due to booking overlap with the afterparty for Philadelphia’s annual naked bike ride.
This year, the boys may be taking it slow with new releases, but they have revamped their web presence in preparation for huge moves later on this year. They also put on a fantastic show in Manhattan at Pianos back in April, where Saint Slumber’s talented drummer, Stephan Stanzione, played in every band that performed.
This resulted in Stanzione playing for hours on end, but this had no impact on the quality of his performance; his drumming actually seemed to only get more enthusiastic as the night went on. At one point, attendees were delighted by Stanzione trading in his drums for some strings, further showcasing his skills as an instrumentalist.
In short, this Manhattan show was full of incredible moments, but was ultimately defined by Stephan Stanzione’s incredible percussive feat.
Witness some of the many faces of Stephan Stanzione:
Your favorite drummer might be cool–but let’s be honest– are they are cool as Steph?
Probably not.
Catching up with Josh from Saint Slumber
AM: Welcome to 2023, Saint Slumber! It’s good to see you, Josh. How’s it been going for you guys? What have you been up to?
JP: It’s good to be back! Although we don’t plan it this way, we seem to take winters off in each new year to plan and write. We’ve been planning out our 2023 and hopefully figuring out a way to not take off next winter.
AM: Tell us about the new Saint Slumber new single, “RUN&HIDE“ — it’s quite different from your last two releases.
JP: This song is very different because it’s our first collaboration with the incredible Hahlweg, a heavily cinematic electronic producer. I wrote this song nearly two years ago, and it’s finally seeing the light of day, which is really exciting for us! The man really knows how to create a sense of space.
AM: Is there any connection between “RUN&HIDE” and “It’s Okay To Be Afraid”? Or is this theme I’m picking up all in my head?
JP: I would say all of the songs written in the 2020-2023 time period are connected. When they’re released as a full body of work, I think the throughline will be a lot more apparent; you know I tend to like concept records.
AM: Alacadabra–alakazam, what’s your relationship with magic like? Do you know any card tricks? Pull any rabbits out of any hats lately? Do any rituals last night with the new moon? –All of these are asked in earnest, to be clear. MendoWerks don’t judge.
JP: I have a very interesting relationship with magic. Coming from a very religious background, all references to magic — the occult, wicca, Harry Potter — were completely taboo. As an adult, and even a completely materialist one, I find the pursuit of magic to be an inherently human thing; we all wish we could manifest change in the world around us.
AM: In all seriousness, as a ‘recovering Catholic,’ I just gotta reiterate that your shows are like going to Church for me– in the best possible way. And you, yourself, have a bit of a cult leader vibe going on– again, in the best possible way. I do mean all of that as a compliment– I know you know that. Anyway, I know you played at least one show so far this year– how would you say that event went?
JP: You’re very kind! We’ve been playing some small club shows to test out new material and build our live show. We often feel constricted by the resources around us; without touring it’s very difficult to find small-to-medium venues that have the facilities necessary to throw a good, old-fashioned show. But we’re still building and planning.
AM: So, what’s next? We’ve got half of 2023 left–what does ‘the best band that nobody’s heard of’ have in store for us that you can share?
JP: We have two more singles and a full length record release in store for this summer. We plan on leaning heavily into collaborations in the latter half of the year as well– we want to just keep churning out music until we’re dead.
Keep in touch with Saint Slumber:
Many thanks to Szonia Nemes, Chantel Malin, and Carly Palicz for their photographic contributions to this piece! Click their names to find even more of their phenomenal work.
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