(Credits: Far Out / Dontaskai / Raoul Droog)
When discussing cats in music, the frequent associations normally veer towards vacation chart-toppers or catchy TikTok tunes. Either manner, it’s usually linked with deep annoyance moderately than something resembling creative depth. However, Canadian rock group The Weakerthans flipped this narrative after they crafted a poignant narrative round a cat named Virtute, delivering an unexpectedly heartfelt story of tragedy.
In 2003, John Ok. Samson left his drumming duties in Canadian punk-rock band Propagandhi to concentrate on his solo music. With The Weakerthans gaining traction from their preliminary albums – 1997’s Fallow and 2000’s Left & Leaving – the discharge of Reconstruction Site in August 2003 marked a turning level in Samson’s musical journey.
Benefiting from the band’s earlier successes and a major signing with Epitaph Records, Reconstruction Site swiftly grew to become The Weakerthans’ most celebrated work, each commercially and critically. Among its highlights was ‘Plea From A Cat Named Virtute’, a poignant track narrated from the angle of a cat grappling with its proprietor’s deepening melancholy.
Although it seems like a moderately harrowing John Lewis advert, the track wasn’t only a showcase of lyrical prowess, nevertheless it additionally arrived with a long-lasting and profound emotional affect. When Reconstruction Site was first launched, a trilogy spanning 13 years wasn’t one thing that anyone anticipated. What’s extra, whereas the primary instalment, ‘Plea From A Cat Named Virtut’, was a robust starter, it grew to become overshadowed by the response to the following chapter of the story.
The Weakerthans’ 2007 album Reunion Tour, their remaining studio launch earlier than an prolonged hiatus and eventual disbandment in 2015, featured what many contemplate some of the heart-wrenching tracks ever crafted. ‘Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure’ delves deeper into the narrative, portraying the proprietor succumbing to a deepening melancholy and subsequently neglecting Virtute at each flip.
This neglect creates a rift between them, because the proprietor spirals into despair whereas Virtute grapples with rising loneliness. However, there’s one glimmer of hope amid the darkness: reminiscences – and trauma – can ultimately fade away. In the ultimate line, the place Virtute can not bear in mind her identify, delivered by the gut-wrenching phrases, “I can’t remember the sound that you found for me”, we’re reminded of the tragedy of loss, however that it will definitely transitions into acceptance.
Although this track appeared like the ultimate chapter in Virtute’s story, Samson unveiled a brand new phase in 2016 when he dropped his second solo album, Winter Wheat. The closing observe, ‘Virtute at Rest’, traces Virtute’s resurrection within the ideas of her therapeutic proprietor, who grapples with previous happenings and yearns for the consolation and reassurance as soon as offered years in the past.
Stirring up nostalgia, trauma, and comprehension in a observe that would give the saddest track in historical past a run for its money, ‘Virtute at Rest’ captures a way of conclusion, amplifying the affect of each meticulously chosen phrase. Samson’s voice, carrying each misery and certainty, teeters delicately, poised to yield to the immense gravity of his creation, gently drawing it to a poignant conclusion.
