The Weakerthans, a four-piece band from Winnipeg, Canada, released their third full-length album at the end of 2003. Reconstruction Site is a CD that is almost impossible to describe. To call The Weakerthans rock isn’t giving them enough credit, but they hardly fall under any other category. Perhaps the best way to refer to them is as the first genre-less band to come along in a while. Despite their lack of category, each track on Reconstruction Site is an example of musical poetry at its best. Stream of thought and elaborate anecdotes all challenge the listener not to pay attention. Much like a critically acclaimed independent film, each song is a scene, and each scene is better than the last. Lead singer John K. Samson’s voice is that of gentle narrator, taking it all in and further explaining that which may be unclear. Despite the declaration on the title track that “beauty’s just another word I’m never certain how to spell,” The Weakerthans have a gentle and lovely style soothes and envelops all at the same time. Comforting to the core, Reconstruction Site brings to mind the sounds and lyrics of Simon and Garfunkle. Track eleven, “One Great City!” is an anti-love song to their hometown, chronicling the lives of several Winnipeg residents disenchanted with their lives. “Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call” sets a scene of friends in a bar so vividly that the listener can hear the clink of glasses and picture the smoke halos surrounding the narrator’s head. Essentially, listening to Reconstruction Site is almost like an out of body experience. It takes a very special band to make the world outside disappear and The Weakerthans invite the listener to withdraw from their own existence for a while. Reconstruction Site will fast become one of those CDs that never leave the stereo, in addition to instilling an inexplicable urge to pack up and move to Canada.