Detractions

Detractions were active from 2012-2019. This page is no longer being updated.

DETRACTIONS are "Calgary's communal sweatfest" (Beatroute, 2017), a pulsing, moving and shaking musical act dedicated to tearing down the walls between audience and artist. Despite early experimentation with punk and surf, the riff heavy and crushingly dark rock and roll that Detractions have evolved into is a testament to wanting to push and expand; to constantly change and adapt. Uncomfortably candid lyrics, whiplash inducing genre changes and leave-it-all-on-the-floor energy all collide into a live show that you cannot miss.

After going through numerous lineup changes, things finally solidified when Shawn Savard (Random Task Collective) joined on bass in 2014 and Gus Rendell (Planned Bastard, Cheer) got behind the drums in 2016, joining original members Nathan Iles and Jesse Gillett. Shawn's pounding bass and Gus's wild animal drumming perfectly complimented Jesse's wailing leads and Nathan's furious rhythm and howled poetry. The collaboration between these four is key; there is no individual song writer in Detractions. Every song gets torn apart and built back up by all four, resulting in a sound that embodies their wildly varying tastes, inspirations, and sensibilities.

“Together they are a gigantic rocking robot sent from the future to save humanity from its humdrum existence with razor-sharp rhythyms and alternative crunch.” - Frog E Style, 2019