Canadian post-punk rising stars TRAITRS present their new single ‘Mouth Poisons’, the new taster of their forthcoming long-player ‘Horses In The Abattoir’, to be released in mid-November via Freakwave, a Berlin-based label that is part of the Schubert Music Europe group, with distribution by The Orchard. Not long ago, the duo released the single ‘Oh, Ballerina’. with a short moody art-house horror film meets 80’s new wave music video, directed and edited by Shawn Tucker.
Recorded by and produced with Josh Korody (F*cked Up, Japandroids, Dilly Dally, Beliefs, Nailbiter) at Candle Recording Studio, the new output was mastered by Pete Maher (U2, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Linkin Park, Katy Perry).
Based in Toronto, TRAITRS was formed in 2015 by Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker. With a cinematic blend of post-punk, goth, alternative and post-rock, their emotive melodies, propulsive rhythms, angular guitars and dark cinematic electronics quickly led to the duo becoming one of the dark music scene’s fastest rising independent artists.
“The core sketch of this song was written late at night at a very good friend’s place in Frankfurt, Germany. ‘Mouth Poisons’ is an extremely personal song and lyrically I set myself up as the main target. It carries an air of ‘come see what’s going inside of me that wants to burn down everything in sight’. Definitely my favourite single we have ever released to date,” says Shawn Tucker.
“‘Mouth Poisons’ was initially supposed to be a fast, angular punk track and it remained in this form for several months until Shawn wrote the bass guitar part and completely changed the way I heard the song. His melodic bass line brought out a sadness and vulnerability in the track that I didn’t know was there. All of a sudden this frantic punk song sounded more like The Smiths or New Order, so I completely rewrote my synth part to tease out those elements even more. The break before the outro is one of my favourite parts on the album,” says Sean-Patrick Nolan.
Early demos, recorded with Josh Korody, led to TRAITRS’ 2016 debut cassette ‘Rites And Ritual’ with Pleasence Records. After gaining traction in Europe and North America, TRAITRS released their critically acclaimed ‘Butcher’s Coin’ LP via Pleasence Records / Manic Depression Records / Alchera Visionsin 2018. Bolstered by lead single ‘Thin Flesh’, the duo embarked on several lengthy tours overseas, performing in over a dozen countries with showcases at Wave Gothik Treffen, Castle Party, Extramuralhas, Nocturnal Culture Night, Wavefest, Canadian Music Week and Pop! Montreal.
Their relentless touring schedule and work ethic caught the attention of Thomas Thyssen and Eric Burton of Schubert Music Publishing and, in October 2020, they announced TRAITRS as the first signing to their brand-new record label Freakwave Records.
With the preceding limited 10’’ vinyl ‘The Sick, Tired And Ill’, which practically sold-out before its actual release, TRAITRS were able to triple their Spotify monthly listeners to >33k. In addition, lead single ‘Magdalene‘ spent 5 consecutive weeks at #1 on the German Alternative Charts (DAC).
As of September 17, ‘Mouth Poisons’ will be available digitally everywhere, including Spotify and Apple Music. On November 19, the full-length ‘Horses In The Abattoir’ LP will be released on vinyl, CD and digitally. It can be ordered at https://orcd.co/
CREDITS
Written and performed by TRAiTRS
Shawn Tucker – Vocals, guitar, bass guitar and lyrics
Sean-Patrick Nolan – Synths, piano, sequencing and programming
Additional percussion by Josh Korody
Recorded at Candle Recording Studio in Toronto
Produced and mixed by Josh Korody and TRAITRS
Mastered by Pete Maher
Album cover design by Shawn Tucker, based on ‘Anna Pavlova In The Fokine/Saint-Saëns The Dying Swan. St. Petersburg – 1905’.
Video scenario and production by TRAITRS
Video directed and edited by Shawn Tucker
Photos by Melinda Crawford
“A stunning offering… impeccable mélange of alternative dark pop and catchy goth-laced retro-futuristic soundscapes… among the fastest rising independent artists on the dark music scene” ~ The Spill Magazine
“A classic post-punk bassline into guitars that burn like a midnight frost, or the ember of a clove cigarette… surprising cinematic influences” ~ Post-Punk.com
“An otherwise fraught, near desperate theme inside a sonic structure that manages, some damn how, to simultaneously uplift… exemplifies what the fuss has always been about when it came to TRAITRS” ~ Stereo Embers Magazine
“These music mavericks create dark sonic greatness, with an element of hope furtively embedded therein” ~ Big Takeover Magazine
“Channeling pent-up frustration and manic creative energy… a real highlight for post-punk fans” ~ Sonic Seducer
“Impeccable from start to finish… dark and introspective” ~ CanadianBeats
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