Dentata

New punk band featuring members of Brides, Romo Roto & more. Dark punk, that pulls elements from no wave & metal. Heavy songs that draw you in at a slow pace, creeping forward with steady entrancing motion & floating vocals. For fans of Erase Errata, Fugazi, Bikini Kill and sludge that cleans up really good. - WeGoWeGo

A: What sort of music are you into at the moment?

R: All kinds I guess. Let’s see. I’ve been listening to this band, that I saw in Toronto, just recently called Dentata, it’s an all girl band. Joy Division, I’ve been listening to that, I guess everybody does. I have to think, wait let me just look at my ipod, that will tell me. I listen to talk radio to be honest. But for music… it says, the Jam, it says Sonic Youth, State of Alert, Small Faces, Type 0-. And that’s this week, you know, I’m all over the place with stuff. Type 0- because the singer just died and I photographed him once. - Slamxhype Exclusive

Dentata! My new favourite Toronto band! - Bruce LaBruce

there are a few things i wanted to say concerning the retro and nostalgic nature of the advertising for switched on. first of all, it's only the posters and flyers we make that are retro and nostalgic. it was really important to me that new music gets played alongside all of our old faves at this night. this is really the first time that i've seen something that i experienced pretty much first hand (i wasn't old enough to go to shows for a lot of these bands but i did buy many of their records when they actually came out) come back as a fascination for people who are younger than me. it feels weird. on the one hand, i'm aware that old music can be new music if you've never heard it before, and i still have all these records and i still love them, so yeah i am totally happy to play them. on the other, if that was all i did - try to school the kids or some such shit, i'd just feel old and pathetic. while i think it's important and necessary to learn about and from the past, i don't think it's always a good idea to romanticize the old days and pine for them too much, whether you lived through them or not.

and having said that, i admit to missing ragey female rock bands. things are a bit too pretty right now and i do have to defer to listening to older stuff for a good dose of bellowing, screaming, and speed. i am actually still wondering why that's disappeared from the indie rock landscape? apparently not relevant anymore, like the lilith woman? why not? the last good metallic shriek i remember was ida no's (pre 04 glass candy) ... and then it seemed like the domain of freaky ladies passed solely into the hands of electronic artists (mia, fever ray ... lady gaga). which is great, though at times it's a bit too conscious and aestheticized in comparison to what i'm looking for.

there has been one band ... i recently saw DENTATA play at the beaver .... and it looks promising! see them live if you can. - Jamie Sin

No one guessed I’d miss Catamount. I step into Parts and Labour, appreciate / despise the seven foot ceiling, and decide to never buy their vodka again before Dentata starts.

They look and sound like their name. Inverted crucifix, pentagram, the usual Rosemary’s Baby routine (now if only they dressed like a Roman Polanksi film), built around the Devil’s Interval and introductions that sound like teen Sabbath until the guitars speed up and it gets punk and even poppy, in a Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice minus Harry Belafonte way. You can dance to it, or cut your tongue out. There are some timing issues; I’m not sure if they’re fucking with us or if they’re just sloppy. Honour mistakes as divine intention.

I couldn’t hear the feedback very well, but it sounded good. The drummer played with a busy sparseness that participated in the composition, instead of just keeping the beat. The vocals could be discarded, until they snap out of the pseudo-Wiccan chanting and into Kathleen Hanna impressions that keep the songs moving.

Every song had at least one decent part, generally the fastest bit. They can end songs, but the sludgy beginnings sag. If they can figure a few things out, they could be really good in six months. - Jonny Chance

I wonder why it takes so long for Dentata to put an amp in front of the drums, because Alex’s batshit drumming keeps scattering it across the room, beating the shit out of the kit like it’s an instrument instead of a metronome. Neil’s guitar almost competes as he gets noisier and noisier, scratching vulgar lines into the songs. The lyrics are terrible, but the vocals sound good when Dana and Tamsen chant in unison or either of them start screaming. Once in a while the bass justifies showing up, but the second guitar was off for a song and it didn’t matter. The Jesus and Mary Chain’s blasphemous early attempts could inspire some less vapid lyrics and harsher sounds to hold hands with the Sabbath and Bauhaus influence. Every song has decent bits, but other parts need to be exorcised and I wish they’d move from song to song quicker. - Jonny Chance

Dentata is a band that’ll surely be the next big thing in Toronto very soon. They’re everything you love about a good live show and everything you love about sexy girls with guitars, all rolled up into one sweet ass package. The band, which consist of Dana, Tamsen, Neil, and Alex(also known for her band Romo Roto) is still fairly new, but so far things look promising.

Each of their songs has a different energy, but they all manage to kick you in the teeth just as hard as their live show. It’s swampy riot grrl, with amazing guitar riffs and Dana Wright wearing fierce leather knee highs on stage(too much to handle, yeah we know). They just recently played a show at The Beaver in Toronto that was jam-packed and super fun . Something about them just brings you back to the good ol’ days, the meat and potatoes of punk rock, the sweaty shows and dancing with your friends. Dentata may have been put on “Next Level” prematurely, but we like a band with promise and attitude. The only piece of advice we’ll give to you if you decide to attend one of their shows, don’t get in these girls faces and prepare to be amazed and drink a lot of beer. - Dirtbag Journalism