Reconstruction Site - The Weakerthans
Recommended by: Ursidice
When Ursidice recommended this album they said they'd be very surprised if I hadn't already heard it, and now that I have heard it I completely understand why they assumed I'd be familiar with it. This is that style of indie/rock that almost blurs the lines of post-hardcore, sitting alongside bands like The Gaslight Anthem while also sharing space with the more punk end of the post-hardcore spectrum like Hot Water Music. Given that they're fronted by former Propagandhi bassist John K. Samson that punkier edge to their sound isn't really surprising.
It would be easy for me to be annoyed with myself that I haven't heard this sooner in my life, but instead I'm telling myself that getting to hear this for the first time in adulthood when I can properly appreciate it - rather than at 17 when it might not have resonated for me quite as well - is a gift. Now that I have heard it I can also clearly hear its influence on more modern bands who I enjoy. I'm thinking of a lot of Midwestern emo bands, paticularly Modern Baseball and The Hotelier here.
Samson's vocal delivery reminds me a lot of John Darnielle's singing in The Mountain Goats, particularly on Pslam For The Elks Lodge Last Call - a standout on the album for me - and his lyrics share that sort of prosaic poetry that's a hallmark of Darnielle. I'm also hearing some anti-folk influence in moments that remind me of Jeffrey Lewis (though much less atonal).
With any lyrically dense album it's inevitable that I'm going to miss a lot on a first listen, and I definitely was focused more on the arrangements and music on this first run through to be able to talk to any stand-out lyrical moments for me, but I can tell this is going to reward lots of repeat listening. I can definitely talk about my absolute favourite moment on the record, though, which is the weird swelling backwards-guitars of (Hospital Vespers) flowing straight into the chaotic noise of the first few chords of Uncorrected Proofs. I'm a complete sucker for gapless track lists and songs that flow perfectly into one another (ask me about the middle of Manchester Orchestra's A Black Mile To The Surface one day1). Uncorrected Proofs is also the first song that made me rewind it to the start to make sure I was actually listening to the lyrics and catching everything, and I wasn't disappointed. This is great:
Sifting through translucent shards of glass Looking for the filament that lit the life you want So you stumble for the phone, rasp the cord and pull Will your readership complain the stories always end the same?
Uncorrected Proofs immediately became my favourite track on the album - no big surprise, as it's one of the tracks that comes the closest to my beloved post-hardcore stylistically. And it's placed perfectly, coming in right when my attention might have been tempted to wane and saying "sit up and pay attention".
This is very much an album rather than a collection of songs, and that's exactly what I want when I listen to music. This was a great recommendation.
Speaking of Manchester Orchestra, this lyric on Benediction stuck out to me purely because it uses the words "simple math" and immediately made me want to listen to that album: "All our accidents went purposeful and fell / Stripped of providence or any way to tell our intentions were intangible and sweet / Sick with simple math and shy discoveries, piled up against our impending defeat"↩