Exclusive: The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson announces new solo album, Winter Wheat
In late 2014, The Weakerthans’ frontman John K. Samson began hinting that the band’s inactivity may become permanent. This didn’t garner much news until, in 2015, drummer Jason Tait took to Twitter, announcing that The Weakerthans would be no more. But there’s a glimmer of hope for fans that have been waiting for new music since 2007’s Reunion Tour, as Anti- Records will release John K. Samson’s upcoming solo album, Winter Wheat, on October 21. And while Weakerthans fans have been held over by Samson’s 2012 solo album, Provincial, Winter Wheat has something that record didn’t: The Weakerthans rhythm section.
Co-produced by Tait—as well as Samson’s partner and collaborator, Christine Fellows—Winter Wheat sees three-fourths of The Weakerthans core turning up throughout the album. Today, The A.V. Club is streaming the first song from Winter Wheat, the aching “Postdoc Blues,” which sees a protagonist struggling to find connection and hope while existing in a cold, digital world. It’s the kind of plaintive rumination that Samson has long been known for, and fits nicely into his body of work without retreading his past. The A.V. Club was able to ask Samson a couple questions about the song, and how this record is actually more like a Weakerthans album than a solo record.
The A.V. Club: Winter Wheat seems to put an emphasis on technology and how it influences our lives today. What fascinated you about this subject matter, and how does it relate to “Postdoc Blues”?
I’m really interested in how technology is altering the way we interpret the world. It seems like everyone, especially those of us who have lived in a world with and without the internet, is obsessed by how it is changing the way we live and think. And I love how words like “dongle” suddenly appear in our lives.