New Weakerthans Album Coming In The Fall

The Weakerthans will split their time between Winnipeg and Toronto while recording the long-awaited follow-up to 2003's Reconstruction Site.

The long layoff means that the group have built up lots of material to sift through for the Anti-/Epitaph release, which is slated to arrive in stores in the fall. Ian Blurton (C'mon, Blurtonia) will again take production responsibilities.

"This record is looking a little less conceptual and more like a collection of songs and stories," says guitarist Stephen Carroll. "Having brought Ian in to help complete the record has been great, as we had been staring at most of the songs for so long that it was hard for us to see their potential.

"Since we decided to record the album, we have gained a lot of momentum and the fragmented parts are really coming together well. And we are all very excited about the record."

The Weakerthans' insightful and intelligent lyrics — combined with a musical palette that mixes punk, folk, pop, rock and alt.country — have gained a wider following with each release. Former Propagandhi singer/guitarist John K. Samson, drummer Jason Tait and bassist John P. Sutton formed the band in 1997 and released their Fallow debut shortly thereafter. Carroll joined the band for 2000's Left And Leaving and their commercial breakthrough, Reconstruction Site. Sutton left the band in 2004 and was replaced by Greg Smith.

In a blog entry on The Weakerthans' MySpace page, Tait said that "live performances will resume" after the album's release. He also advised fans to keep checking the site for updates on the record's progress, as they'll "be posting some teasers of what we've been working on, maybe some videos as well."

The Weakerthans and Fabula will play Winnipeg's Garrick Centre on April 28 as part of the city's week-long Nuna Festival.