Wow. I can't believe this album is almost 4 years old (it will be next month). The first time I heard The Weakerthans I was 14 or 15. I hated it. I checked it out since I knew the former bassist from Propagandhi was in the band. It reminded me of the wimpy pop-punk songs that John K. Samson was responsible for on Propagandhi's Less Talk, More Rock. I didn't listen to The Weakerthans for a few years. But, for some reason, when I was 18 or so The Weakerthans clicked, I guess I was more open to wimpy pop-punk at that point. Since then they've been one of my favorite bands and my most listened to band according to last.fm (and those wimpy Propagandhi songs are now my favorites on that album).
Reunion Tour, The Weakerthans 4th and most recent album is one of the best albums I have ever heard. It shouldn't really have come as a surprise when this album immediately vaulted into position as my favorite Weakerthans album, over the course of their previous 3 albums The Weakerthans had been improving as a band in every facet imaginable and Reunion Tour didn't deviate from that path. Musically it's similar to their past output, indie/pop-punk with a bit of country twang and folksiness thrown in the mix. However, Reunion Tour adds a lush density that none of its predecessors quite had. I won't say it's a headphones album since it's equally, if not more so, a fantastic album to sing along to, but if you were to listen to it with your nicest pair of cans you'd be pleasantly surprised.
The music is only half the attraction of Reunion Tour though, John K. Samson is the other half. Is he a good singer? Not particularly, though he has much improved from his early Propagandhi days where he was objectively bad. Lyrically, he's one of the best ever. The only other person who competes with Samson for best lyricist ever is John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Each song is written from the perspective of a different character and the lyrics are extraordinarily literate, witty, insightful and the wordplay is brilliant.
Not liking this album could very well be grounds for ending our friendship.
The Weakerthans on last.fm
Get it here.
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