The Weakerthans — Reunion Tour

Once one of Canada's most promising rock acts, Reunion Tour marks the third time The Weakerthans have regurgitated the template of their debut. Worse, the albums have progressively gotten more and more timid. The best tracks are all retreads of songs from Reconstruction Site, while the worst — and here I have to single out the inclusion of the cringe-inducing spoken-word track "Elegy For Gump Worsley" — will have you wondering why you aren't just playing Left & Leaving instead. The worst part is that I can't even definitively slam Reunion Tour. It's not like John K. Samson lost the ability to write hooks and lyrics that'll be stuck in your head for the next four years. This record is retardedly catchy. It's also patronizingly lazy. It's becoming increasingly obvious why the band take four years to cobble together their albums. They're completely bankrupt of new ideas. Not that any of what's written here matters because, as usual, all of their followers will buy it unquestioningly. C'est la vie.