Toronto’s TRAITRS may be a band you’ve heard of, or maybe not. For the unenlightened: they’re a duo who describe themselves as a mix between post-punk and coldwave. They cite influences ranging from Alice Coltrane to Asylum Party, although many who hear them draw comparisons to the bands of the 2000s post-punk revival such as Interpol and older goth classics like the Cure. I think that’s mostly due to singer Shawn Tucker’s vocals, which are reminiscent of Robert Smith’s, and the fact that many, if not most of their songs, are about horror films and dark topics like religious trauma, serial killers, and nightmares. They’re one of the bands at the forefront of goth music’s current renaissance, and have even had their single “Thin Flesh” featured on The Crow remake’s soundtrack, alongside influences like Joy Division. They’ve performed at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, Germany and opened for modern goth legends like Lebanon Hanover and Twin Tribes. They have had huge amounts of upward momentum.
Earlier this year in May, to promote their new album Possessor, they came through Denver on tour at HQ. I had seen them in 2024 and thought they were fantastic, so I decided to go again.
The crowd was much bigger than the last time I caught them, and several people near me had been following them from show to show. Fans pressed in close. One girl tried to shove me to the side for my coveted position at the front, just to the right of center stage. A kind older goth couple with impeccable fashion, who had followed them after a show in the southwest, chatted with a group of fans with fishnet sleeves and black lipstick who murmured shyly about how attractive they found Tucker.
Everyone was whispering about an important change that had occurred just a few days ago: While Shawn Tucker was still present, Sean Patrick Nolan was not, and had been replaced by a touring bassist named Oasis Molina. Sure enough, when TRAITRS arrived onstage, Shawn the singer and guitarist was present, but Sean the synth master was missing, and Oasis was filling in.
This marked an important change. When I last saw them, Nolan was in charge of synths, but this year, Molina was playing bass and the synths were programmed. This change brought a different energy to the stage. Molina’s playing was incredibly professional and polished despite the fact that he had joined Tucker onstage less than a week ago, and fans were notably impressed. Tucker took advantage of the fact that the entire stage was nearly empty and moved around as much as possible with his guitar when he was not singing, while last time, at the same venue, he had to be careful to move around Nolan’s synth setup. Molina brought his own energy to the stage and seemed to fit seamlessly, complimenting Tucker’s strong and energetic presence.
Just as they had in 2024, they opened with “Oh, Ballerina” from 2021’s “Horses in the Abattoir.” It wasn’t quite the same without the live piano intro, but Molina quickly proved that his bass playing was up to the task of keeping up with Tucker’s energetic guitar.
The crowd’s energy was electric, and they and the performers seemed to feed off one another’s enthusiasm, and when Tucker asked those who knew the words to sing along to “Thin Flesh,” there wasn’t a quiet voice in the room. When the show ended, it felt as though it ended much too soon.
The lights came on, and it wasn’t just the big fans at the front who were whispering about Nolan’s absence, and speculation was rampant. Some reported that at earlier shows in the tour, there seemed to be a lot of tension between Shawn and Sean onstage, while others thought there had been no tension at all and they had seemed friendly.
I sought to separate fact from fiction, and I’ve gathered what meager evidence there is so that you, the reader, can be informed.
Shortly after the Denver show this spring, no doubt in response to the growing whispers of a breakup, TRAITRS made a post on Instagram that reads as follows:
“Hey fans! We apologize for the lack of communication and will provide more information when we’re able to. Moving forward we are super excited about our upcoming shows. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Sean Patrick Nolan will not be joining us onstage.
Stepping in for the remaining dates of the Possessor tour on bass will be Oasis Molina. Can’t wait to see you all soon. - Shawn Tucker.”
This post did nothing except confirm that Molina would be taking Nolan’s place for the remainder of the tour. It neither confirms nor denies rumors of a breakup, which isn’t a good sign, but it’s hardly proof of the end of TRAITRS.
In response, a Reddit post appeared almost immediately linking to the Instagram post, prompting discussion. Two brand-new accounts quickly posted almost identical single-sentence replies claiming that they had “insider information” and that not only had the band broken up, but that Shawn could not legally continue as TRAITRS without Sean. Fans expressed concern for Nolan, fear that the band was over, and support for Molina.
Given the fact that, two months later, the only development we’ve seen is that new tour dates were just announced the other day with Molina continuing to fill in, it seems that TRAITRS is not over yet, so the rumor that they can’t “legally continue” seems unlikely to be true. However, TRAITRS’ recent instagram posts have all used “I” rather than “we,” so who knows what will happen when the Possessor tour ends?
There are a number of possible explanations for the disappearance of Sean Patrick Nolan over the past two months. A breakup is only one of those possibilities. Other possibilities could include a family emergency, a new injury or diagnosis, or just the need to take a break from the relentless touring schedule. It’s useless to speculate because we just don’t know, and we won’t know until the band tells us.
There are important lessons for both bands and fans to learn from this situation.
For one, if something big like a lineup change mid-tour occurs, there is no way to stop large amounts of speculation from fans, especially for a band with as much recent momentum as TRAITRS has had, unless the band addresses it themselves. Whether this is a good or bad thing is a matter of perspective, but with comparisons being drawn to other recent band drama and breakups in the goth scene, such as Vision Video’s recent legal drama following their breakup, it’s possible that not all speculation is good speculation.
For another, don’t trust just any random account on social media claiming to have insider knowledge unless they can provide convincing evidence. They may be telling the truth, but they may also be stirring up drama for their own agenda, such as farming Reddit karma, seeking attention, or stirring up controversy about a band they don’t like. It’s easy to dwell on bad news and get upset; that’s what doomscrolling is all about. Never assume someone won’t take advantage of the innate human tendency to focus on the negatives.
Finally, most fans have respected the band’s privacy despite their concerns, and I haven’t seen a single person express anything but support for Molina as he fills in. This is the only appropriate response to a situation like this. Harassing Shawn and Sean, panicking, or directing frustration at Molina does nothing but create tension, stir up resentment, and in my view, increase the chances of a breakup.
Music is not supposed to be a source of stress or distress, and TRAITRS do not want their fans to feel that way about them or their music. In a recent interview in Starrymag, Nolan described the message he wants listeners to get from TRAITRS: “Especially with all the discussion and proliferation of AI slop, just the idea that art and music is a vehicle for human connection and healing for the artist and listener alike. It’s a symbiotic relationship and one the billionaire class is incapable of comprehending beyond sheer exploitation and thievery.”
In the age of instant gratification and easily, if often incorrect, answers from Google or worse, AI, it can be difficult to sit back, wait, and see. Someone is always waiting in the wings to sell you answers, even when there are none. Social media means boundaries between artists and fans can be difficult or impossible to maintain, and people often forget that artists are normal people. Having strangers digging through every detail of their personal lives is never helpful, especially when a large change is occurring.
It’s easy to decide that a “symbiotic relationship” means fans deserve some kind of explanation, and eventually, an explanation may be due, but it’s only been three months and the Possessor tour is set to continue well into 2027. We have no idea what is actually happening behind the scenes, and artists do not owe us an end to their privacy or immediate explanations for what could be anything from a band breakup to a death in the family.
Sometimes, taking a step back to just wait and see is the only healthy thing you can do.
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