Reconstruction Site is a 2003 album by The Weakerthans

The Weakerthans

The Weakerthans are a four-piece Canadian indie rock band.-History:The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he left the punk band Propagandhi to start a publishing company. Samson joined forces with bassist John P...

. A song cycle about grief, regret, loss and eventual hope, the album is thematically framed by three tracks, "(Manifest)", "(Hospital Vespers)" and "(Past-Due)", which set three different sonnet

Sonnet

A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...

s following a terminally ill hospital patient into the aftermath of his death to the same melody. "(Hospital Vespers)" is also a musical palindrome, as the instrumental track of "(Manifest)" played in reverse comprise the same chord progression.

Other songs examine the album's themes from different angles: "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" is written from the perspective of a depressed person's cat, "One Great City!" is about Samson's love–hate relationship with his hometown of Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, and "Our Retired Explorer" imagines a dinner date between philosopher Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...

 and a hopelessly nostalgic member of Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...

's expedition to Antarctica.

Guest musicians on the album include Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the well-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she...

 and Christine Fellows

Christine Fellows

Christine Fellows is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:Born in Windsor, Ontario and raised in France and Kelowna, British Columbia, Fellows lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Guelph and Montreal before settling in Winnipeg in 1992.In 1993, she formed her first group,...

. The album's cover art was designed by Canadian artist and fellow Winnipegger Marcel Dzama

Marcel Dzama

Marcel Dzama is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York. His work has been exhibited internationally, in particular his ink and watercolor drawings.-Range of practice:...

.

The song "One Great City!" serves as the theme song to the Canadian television comedy-drama series Less Than Kind

Less Than Kind

Less Than Kind is a Canadian television comedy-drama series that stars Jesse Camacho as Sheldon Blecher, a teenager growing up in a loving but dysfunctional Jewish family in Winnipeg. The show's cast also includes Maury Chaykin and Wendel Meldrum as Sheldon's parents, Benjamin Arthur as his older...

.

Track listing

All songs by The Weakerthans and all lyrics by John K. Samson

John K. Samson

John Kristjan Samson is a musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is a singer-songwriter and currently the frontman of the Canadian folk punk band The Weakerthans...

.

1. "(Manifest)" – 1:45
2. "The Reasons" – 2:50
3. "Reconstruction Site" – 2:45
4. "Psalm for the Elks Lodge
   Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
   The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
   
    Last Call" – 2:45
5. "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" – 3:49

1. "Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault
   Michel Foucault
   Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
   
    in Paris, 1961)" – 2:23
2. "Time's Arrow
   Time's Arrow (novel)
   Time's Arrow: or The Nature of the Offence is a novel by Martin Amis. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize .- Plot summary :The novel recounts the life of a German Holocaust doctor in a disorienting reverse chronology...
   
   " – 2:53
3. "(Hospital Vespers)" – 1:41
4. "Uncorrected Proofs" – 2:42
5. "A New Name for Everything" – 4:04
6. "One Great City!" – 2:55
7. "Benediction" – 3:28
8. "The Prescience of Dawn" – 4:37
9. "(Past-Due)" – 2:10