My love affair with the Weakerthans is a very public one... I discovered them thru an article I read on Punk Planet. I listened to their first two albums Fallow and Left and Leaving one winter and rarely put anything else on by them.
When the album Reconstruction Site came out... I didn't quite understand the release. Their sound had matured and I hadn't quite caught up to what the band was doing. I actually recall listening to it a few times when I first got the album and remembered thinking that it was spuriously un-punky despite being released on Epitaph Records.
As the years passed... my affection for this album has grown leaps and bounds. It's hands down my favorite Weakerthans album in my collection. When workdays get rough, it's the first album I reach for to chase away the "blues".
Lyrically, speaking... John K. Samson is easily in my top 5. I'm at a complete loss at how he can craft emotion, thought and dialogue in the confines of a 3 minute songs. If I ever had an opportunity to meet him, I'd be curious to hear what his thoughts are on the sound of the record. It has a number of songs on it that sorta border on alt-country...
Standout tracks
- The Weakerthans – The Reasons
- The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site
- The Weakerthans – Plea From A Cat Named Virtute
- The Weakerthans – Our Retired Explorer
- The Weakerthans – Time's Arrow
- The Weakerthans – A New Name For Everything - I LOVE this song.
- The Weakerthans – Benediction
Artists: The Weakerthans
Album: Reconstruction Site
Producer: Ian Blurton
Label: Epitaph
Recorded: Chemical Sound