New Audio: TRAITRS Returns with Propulsive and Anthemic “i was ill, you were wrong”

With the release of their first three albums, 2017’s Rites and Rituals, 2018’s Butcher’s Coin and 2021’s Horses in the Abattoir, Toronto-based coldwave duo TRAITRS — longtime friends Sean Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker — firmly established a sound that blended horror-based imagery with anthemic choruses and cinematic, atmospheric soundscapes. And during that time, the duo evolved from bedroom artists selling cassette tapes to amassing millions of streams globally and playing hundreds of shows internationally. 

The Canadian duo’s highly anticipated Josh Korody-produced, Matt Colton-mastered fourth album Possessor is slated for a March 13, 2026 release. According to the band’s Shawn Tucker, Possessor is “the most personal record I have ever written.” The album was written during Toronto’s coldest winter months, informed by storm battered days and a heavy emotional landscape. The pair focused on capturing precise moods, with lyrics serving as the material’s driving force with the surrounding soundscapes grew to mirror the bleak beauty of the writing process.

Possessor will feature the previously released “Burn In Heaven,” a track that channels The Cure, Bauhaus, Depeche Mode and Cocteau Twins, while showcasing their unerring knack for crafting rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. The album’s second and latest single “i was ill, you were wrong,” continues a remarkable run of brooding and cinematic material. And while channeling a synthesis of New Wave and goth in a way that brings The Cure and New Order to mind, “i was ill, you were wrong,” is a chilly yet achingly heartfelt and intimate tune that showcases the duo’s rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

Thematically, the song examines humanity’s denial of its mortality and the complicated structures we build to distract ourselves from the fear of the inevitable, including the fragile bubbles we often create to shield ourselves from the one deeply universal thing that impacts us all — death.

“I felt that song connected me to everything and everyone, it is the one thing we all share and have in common,” the band’s Shawn Tucker says. “It is also a wake up call to live the life you want to live. We only have one chance at this so go dance in the rain.”

The band will be embarking on a Spring 2026 North American tour to support Possessor. The tour includes a May 13, 2026 at Elsewhere Rooftop. Check out the rest of the tour dates below. Tickets can be purchased here.

TRAITRS – POSSESSOR 2026 TOUR – NORTH AMERICAN DATES:

March 13th, 2026 – Canada Toronto Lee’s Palace
March 14th, 2026 – Canada Montreal Bar Le Ritz
April 14th, 2026 – USA West Palm Beach Respectable Street (SPA Support)
April 15th, 2026 – USA Tampa Orpheum (SPA Support)
April 16th, 2026 – USA Dallas Ferris Wheelers (SPA Support)
April 17th, 2026 – USA San Antonio Paper Tiger (SPA Support)
April 21st, 2026 – USA Seattle The Crocodile (LH Support)
April 22nd, 2026 – USA Portland Crystal Ballroom (LH Support)
April 24th, 2026 – USA SLC Metro Music Hall (LH Support)
April 26th, 2026 – USA Los Angeles The Roxy
April 29th, 2026 – USA Las Vegas Swan Dive (LH Support)
May 1st, 2026 – USA Phoenix The Marquee Theater (LH Support)
May 2nd, 2026 – USA Denver
May 5th, 2026 – USA Chicago Sleeping Village
May 6th, 2026 – USA Indianapolis Spellbound Indy
May 7th, 2026 – USA Detroit Small’s
May 8th, 2026 – USA Columbus Ace of Cups (ULTRA SUNN Support)
May 9th, 2026 – USA Pittsburgh Spirit (ULTRA SUNN Support)
May 11th, 2026 – USA Richmond Fallout
May 12th, 2026 – USA Philly Johnny’s Brenda
May 13th, 2026 – USA Brooklyn Elsewhere
May 14th, 2026 – USA Boston Middle East Upstairs
May 15th, 2026 – CAN Ottawa House of Targ

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