Their new album is called Left and Leaving, but don't get any ideas -- Winnipeg's Weakerthans aren't going anywhere.

"No, we're pretty much here for the long haul," confirms John K. Samson, the indie-rock foursome's singer-guitarist and songwriter. "I can see how people might get that idea from the title, but we have no plans to leave.

"I'm a Winnipeg guy," the 27-year-old says. "I'm always going to be that."

Which is not to say that he and his bandmates -- guitarist Stephen Carroll, bassist John P. Sutton and drummer Jason Tait -- haven't been on the move since releasing their well-received debut album Fallow months after forming in 1997.

"We've been touring pretty consistently for three years in the U.S., because Fallow just came out there last year," he explains. "And in that time we've grown up a lot as a band. We've all changed in pretty big ways."

The result of all that growth is Left and Leaving, which the band debuts tonight and tomorrow at the West End Cultural Centre. While the title may not betray a wish to leave town, it does reflect Samson's desire to explore new ground as a songwriter. Compared to its rockier predecessor, Left and Leaving is a moody, quiet affair of subtler shadings and intimate moments.

"Fallow was, kind of as the title suggested, a clearing house," agrees Samson."I was getting rid of some post-adolescent angst. This record is a lot more focused and cohesive -- it's not just a collection of songs.

"Over the years, I think my and the band's influences have become broader. We always retain our history and where we came from, which is the Winnipeg punk scene. But we've let in a broader variety of other people's work."

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the bleak poetry of Samson's lyrics. "I'm unconsoled, I'm lonely," he says in Aside, one of the album's rockier tracks. "I'm leaning on a broken fence between past and present tense. And I'm losing all the stupid games that I swore I'd never play." Not exactly the feel-good hit of the summer -- but then, whaddaya expect from a band that takes its name from a line in the film adaptation of Marguerite Duras' The Lover: "Go ahead, I'm weaker than you can possibly imagine."

But Samson swears he's no moper, even if he does play one on CD.

"I'm not a miserable guy -- at least I don't think I am," he laughs. "I guess you could ask the people who are in my life.

"My lyrics just reflect where I come from. Living here can be a pretty frightening thing. It's a pretty strange city to live in. There's that strange sense that life is elsewhere. The reality is that life is right here."

And indeed, the reality of life in Winnipeg is ever-present in Samson's lyrics. Sometimes it's as direct as a reference to Albert Street or the Disraeli Bridge; at other times it's more political, like the line, "The Mayor's out killing kids to keep taxes down," from My Favourite Chords.

"I wrote it during the (Susan) Thompson administration, but I wasn't really being specific about her," says Samson, previously the bassist for political punk outfit Propagandhi. "I'm referring to the fact that the key issue in every mayoralty race is property taxes while one in four children is living below the poverty line. This city, like any city, has some serious problems."

Samson's social consciousness certainly doesn't make things any easier for a band attempting to forge a career in the ethically bankrupt music biz.

"Being in the music industry is really embarrassing to me -- it makes me want to cringe. In general, the music business is a real sloppy pyramid scheme. But we've been pretty lucky," says Samson, who prefers to retain control over his songs and career instead of selling out to a major label. "For the most part, we work with people who really understand what we're about."

Right now, however, Samson's focus is on this weekend's shows and a subsequent tour, which takes the foursome to the West Coast and down to L.A. beginning next week, with an East Coast swing next month and a European sojourn in the fall.

But don't worry, they'll be back.

"At least for my part, I'm always gonna come back here," he says. "It's not necessarily that I consider it my duty -- but it's a commitment."