New Paltz band Slur released their debut single “Can’t Wait” on Feb. 17. The band, composed of current and former SUNY New Paltz students Rocco Morelli (lead vocals, guitar), Justin Montafia (guitar), Sawyer Gold (bass) and Justin Ruszczycki (drums), intends on following this release with another single and their debut EP in the coming months.
Morelli wrote “Can’t Wait” about three years ago while he and Montafia were part of an earlier project, Dog Thang, and later performed the song live while the majority of the band was in a group known as Yard Sale. They reminisced about the song’s origins and its evolution from a heavier, Foo Fighters-inspired piece to the dreamier and mellow state that it was released to streaming platforms last week.
“I feel like the song was a staple for chilling out on the quad and showing out on a sunny day,” Gold said. “You’d always hear it at some point.”
Montafia described Slur’s sound as “feral,” a description that might not be the first thing that comes to mind when giving “Can’t Wait” a listen for the first time, but this is by design. When played live, Ruszczycki said the song takes on a more electrified tone, more akin to the earlier versions of the arrangement.
The members of Slur all come from a background in various genres of music and use the space they’ve created to allow each other to evolve as musicians. “Can’t Wait was the first song I worked on with them and I was like, ‘Okay, this is a cool, vibey rock track. Like garage rock,’” Ruszczycki said. “Then, the next practice they bring out this heavy drop D song with a massive riff.”
“You started playing over that, and I was like, ‘Okay, we can go here now,’” Montafia interjected.
It looks like a heavier sound is the direction the band aims to take going forward as they write and release more music as a collective.
They described themselves as “philosophical cavemen.”
“Then, we get dirty”
~ Justin Montafia
“It’s fair to say we have a very lush sound, filled with frequencies and harmonics,” Morelli said. “We’re loud and we’re angry, but sometimes we’re soft and gorgeous, bluesy and beautiful.”
“Sometimes we’re hitting the wall and throwing s**t everywhere, acting like primal beings,” he continued. “But sometimes we’re like, maybe we’ll pick up a book and start thinking.”
Going forward the band plans to release an EP featuring more songs written before the band was officially together. “[After the EP] the next project we have planned has a much more communal writing process.”
Slur seems eager to get working on recording this process with Gold describing it as a departure from what their current single and upcoming EP sounds like. “Then, we get dirty,” Montafia added after discussing what comes next after they release their EP.
The group also aims to take a position on music that embraces comedic undertones; not taking themselves overly serious, while still allowing that to be a space they can enter. “It’s important to not take it too seriously,” said Gold. “There’s always that comedic aspect [to music].”
“Not only is there a comedic aspect, but I do think a lot of these songs have meaningful merit,” added Montafia. “Like ‘Man in Blue,’ the song is about over policing. Half the crowd will not know that, because we’re playing through a s****y PA and they’ll still watch and have a good time, but it’s one of those songs where if you’re into it and listen, you’ll go, ‘Oh wow.’”
As for the band after their planned EP, the group seems focused on maintaining creative momentum. “I want to consistently release music,” Morelli said. “I write a lot of songs that probably won’t get released. I want to be able to work on as many things as possible and be really on top of getting the ideas out.”
“I think that’s really important as a band,” he continued. “Just constantly staying on top of producing something.”
“I really love the scene here. You build yourself up in the Hudson Valley a little bit. We’ve played all there is to play on Main Street. So then you would go to Poughkeepsie and Woodstock, and then, you find some homies that are in your niche and you travel a little bit,” said Gold. “I always joke with Justin that I want to go to London, because it’s like what they say in romantic comedies, musicians do well over there.”
The group holds a lot of respect for the Hudson Valley music scene and cites bands like Shark Noises, The Strip and Sir Echo as inspirations for their music and their character.
Gold described the release of “Can’t Wait” as his greatest life accomplishment. “I don’t mean for that to be a depressing thought, like I haven’t done anything with my life,” he continued. “It’s more about the fact that since 13, when [Ruszczycki] was discovering metal, and I was discovering The Doors, there’s this wake up of wanting to be in music, but not knowing what you want to do; there’s this whole journey and finally being part of something that you are truly proud of.”
For all of Slur’s latest happenings, you can find them on instagram @slur.banned. “Can’t Wait” can be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music.
