music
The Weakerthans
Canadian Club
It took a certain amount of memory-
jogging for me to remember why The
Weakerthans are constantly getting
referred to as part punk, part folk. The
music isn’t that punky, but frontman John
K. Samson was in Propagandhi. Right. Got
it now. What I tend to think of the band as
is “that Epitaph (now Anti-) band whose
album with the nice cover is always in the
used bin,” or, more recently, “the band
that always gets my attention when I
set Pandora.com on Frightened Rabbit
radio.” Pandora always delivers the same
song: “One Great City!” from that always-
available-used album, Reconstruction Site.
“The Guess Who suck / the Jets were lousy
anyway,” Samson sings, before getting to
the line, drawn out and tired, that sticks in
my head: “I … hate … Winnipeg.”
Samson’s slightly nasal voice might
remind you of John Darnielle of the
Mountain Goats, though Samson sounds
less high-strung; he might also, on
occasion, remind you of Eugene’s Dan
Jones. The band’s most recent full-
length (they also recently released a live
iTunes EP), 2007’s Reunion Tour, puts
Samson’s voice front and center in 11
songs that can blur together, the tempo
rarely drifting too far in any direction. If
you don’t listen carefully, the album is
over before you realize it; if you focus on
Samson’s dense, storytelling lyrics, you
might fi nd your perspective has shifted.
“Virtue the Cat Explains Her Departure”
(the sequel, if you will, to Reconstruction
Site’s “Plea from a Cat Named Virtue”) is
a tiny heartbreak that can’t reveal itself
until the instruments quiet; the verse
that’s just guitar and Samson’s resigned
voice bares the song’s sweetness. When
the sturdy rhythm steps up and the
music swells as Samson sings, “I can’t
remember the sound that you found for
between Earache and Road Runner old-
school death metal, would surely be
Lovecraftian in infl uence.
Indeed, Arkhum guitarist and vocalist
Stephen Parker clarifi es that “Arkhum
are heavily infl uenced by H.P. Lovecraft’s
style of writing and the somewhat
disturbing nature of some of his work.”
Arkhum is just one of fi ve local extreme
metal bands that you can see at the
WOW Hall this weekend along with
Dismal Lapse, from Auburn, Calif. (Flesh
Consumed was originally scheduled but
is unable to make the show.)
Parker, along with business partner
Jon Gillum, manages Nothing Sacred
Promotions. The pair promote concerts
of any genre, but Parker says he would
like to get the word out about local
bands in the death/black metal genre.
“By setting up this show,” Parker says,
“I am hoping to open up the minds of
the Eugene and Springfi eld youth to
a heavier side of music.” Atonement,
Arkhum, Dismal Lapse, Necryptic,
Tormentium and Brahmin play at 6 pm
Saturday, July 25, at the WOW Hall. $5.
— Vanessa Salvia
me,” the Weakerthans’ easygoing indie-
folk-rock suddenly takes on a different
tone; what was hidden in the mild,
mellow songs strikes a brighter spark.
The Weakerthans and Jason Collett
(of Broken Social Scene) play at 9 pm
Friday, July 24, at the WOW Hall. $15.
— Molly Templeton
Arkhum Asylum
I knew the music of the band Arkhum
would get my husband’s attention. As
soon as I played the video for their song
“Grief Urchin,” (a title which makes me
want to give the band members lots of
hugs) he headed over to my desk to check
it out. We briefl y debated whether or not
their name came from H.P. Lovecraft
or Batman, until we agreed (before he
ran off to play Star Wars on the Wii)
that any band with a skeletal logo and
a sound like grindcore stretched to fi t a
longer song framework, that alternates
Arkhum
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EUGENE WEEKLY JULY 23, 2009 21