ALBUM: Parallelograms of light

Our northern neighbor Canada has a lot to answer for in the music world. (Celine Dion being the foremost apology I'm expecting). The Weakerthans, hailing from Winnipeg, need no apology and instead receive my admiration.

In Reunion Tour, John Samson continues his unique and unmatched narrative style of songwriting by creating eleven short stories ranging from that of a recently dumped bus driver (Civil Twilight) to the nervous and anxious thoughts of an individual dying of a strange disease (Hymn of the Medical Oddity). I simply love it.

All tracks are sung by Samson with a chillingly beautiful voice that lends itself, along with the instrumentation, in creating the believable environments where his introspective characters reside. I find myself identifying with the characters (not to say I've been dumped lately or have an incurable disease. I'm talking about empathy here. I'm sensitive like that) and feeling the emotions of the songs, but no story gets to me quite like the continuing story of a cat named Virtue. In short, it breaks my heart.

A song sung from the perspective of a cat may sound like a gimmick, but as a testament to the talents of The Weakerthans and Samson's songwriting ability, this track comes off as neither corny nor as a gimmick, but a hauntingly beautiful and ultimately sad story.
The album can be sad, I'll admit that right now, but its never a downer, just beautiful.

Oh, and Canada, don't think for a second I've forgotten about Paul Anka. I'd like you to make amends for him too.

The Weakerthans - Sun in an Empty Room