The Welcome Wagon and their appropriately titled album Welcome to the Welcome Wagon is likely going to get a substantial more attention than any other folk/gospel/singer-songwriter-esque albums are going to get. Why? Well, their connection to indie-singer-songwriter icon Sufjan Stevens who produced their album helps, as does its release on his label Asthmatic Kitty. So, anyone who is looking for their SOOF-fix (not unlike myself) is going to be all over this album... like a fat kid on a smarty.
If you're looking for the next SOOF album, it definitely has a Sufjan (c/o Michigan which is fitting since lead male vocalist Rev. Thomas Vito Auito is the Vito of "Vito's Ordination Song" fame) kind of vibe, so, you can tell that he had a pretty substantial influence on the production of the album. I mean, if you were to close your eyes and just listen to the instrumentation, its pretty clearly a SOOF album.
Lyrically, the album is a lot more overtly religious than anything Stevens ever did. While SOOF uses a lot of, or some, religious imagery, but more often - particularly on Michigan and Illinois - but mostly he is just telling stories about people, places, events. The Welcome Wagon, on the other hand, are more like missionaries. I listened to it on the subway on the way to school today and kind of felt like the CD should've come with some holy water, a cross, or something else equally religious.
... so that's where they lost me. But, if you're religious - or more accurately Christian and religious and like folk-y music - this is probably the album for you. If not, maybe the Welcome Wagon won't be so... welcoming... or maybe they will be... and they'll try and convert you and get you to drink the kool-aid....
[mp3] The Welcome Wagon - Sold! To the Nice Rich Man
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