Winnipeg, Canada’s The Weakerthans kick off the autumn season by traveling the continent and then some on their World Tour 2007, including a stop in Lawrence, Kan.

With more than 40 shows in four months, the tour begins Tuesday, Sept. 25, in Minneapolis, Minn., the same day Anti-/Epitaph Records releases The Weakerthans’ fourth album, “Reunion Tour.”

However, those devoted few might find ways to obtain this coveted album four years in the waiting before its “official” release.

This 37-minute, 11-song CD is distinctive Weakerthans while still showing progression from the 2003-release “Reconstruction Site.” The album’s title is about as fictitious as the majority of the characters of which John Samson sings, for the four-member band never broke up.

Recorded in 2007 above a factory just outside of Winnipeg during Canada’s cold March nights, “Reunion Tour” is in true Weakerthans-style. Each song tells a story full of superfluous detail with themes ranging from Bigfoot to the sport of curling to “queer experiments.” Even the cat mentioned in past records makes a reappearance.

Among the yarns appear bits of wisdom. “Guess our wishes don’t do dishes or brake repairs,” says the sorrowful character in “Utilities.” But then the ingenious comparisons, inherent throughout the CD, shine through as he continues, “Got more faults than the state of California and the heart is a badly built bridge.”

For a taste, The Weakerthans’ MySpace page, www.myspace.com/theweakerthans, has all 11 songs available for a listen, and Epitaph offers “Sun in an Empty Room” and “Night Windows” free for MP3 download on its Web page for the new album, www.epitaph.com/artists/album/524.

See The Weakerthans on their second tour date 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Lawrence, Kan., with Last Town Chorus and Jeremy Fisher. Keep in mind, Wednesdays at the Bottleneck mean $1 cans of beer.