The Welcome Wagon - Purity Of Heart Is To Will One Thing
Artist:
Title:
Purity Of Heart Is To Will One Thing
Type:
Album
Released:
28 Dec 2009
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Review
The Welcome Wagon are likely to need an introduction for many of you - they aren't exactly 'mainstream' here in the UK, and I'm guessing the story will be similar elsewhere.
They're friends of Sufjan Stevens, signed to his Asthmatic Kitty label, which mostly consists of indie/American folk bands with strange names, making immensely original sounds. This particular brand of originality will be quite unattractive to many new-comers to the label, while others will yelp for joy, convinced they have found their musical home. The Welcome Wagon demonstrate this originality brilliantly, which means that, while thousands will love...
Read More The Welcome Wagon are likely to need an introduction for many of you - they aren't exactly 'mainstream' here in the UK, and I'm guessing the story will be similar elsewhere.
They're friends of Sufjan Stevens, signed to his Asthmatic Kitty label, which mostly consists of indie/American folk bands with strange names, making immensely original sounds. This particular brand of originality will be quite unattractive to many new-comers to the label, while others will yelp for joy, convinced they have found their musical home. The Welcome Wagon demonstrate this originality brilliantly, which means that, while thousands will love them, the rest will make confused sounds. Like this:'Ha wah?'
This EP is a follow-up to the debut album for the band - okay, I said 'band', they're a husband and wife team, so maybe 'duo' would be more appropriate. The album set out the sound as related to their producer, Sufjan's (folky, picked banjos everywhere, clear vocal tones, occasionally raucous guitar sounds) but with something of a more puritanical edge and a healthy squeeze of kitchen table humanity. The EP makes no changes to this, beginning with Oh Christ, Our Hope, which includes overzealous drums, choral vocals, piano slides all over the place and a guitar sound that could result from somebody playing warped vinyl.
This cacophony hops straight into Up On A Mountain, a demo version of an album track that sounds like it has arrived fresh from the kitchen table, with simple husband and wife vocals and two acoustics. This is a moment of genius in simplicity - I just can't get enough of this track, the guitars sound great, but the vocals are beautiful and the lyrics are starkly profound "Up in the heavens our Lord prays for you, He sent his spirit to carry us through, So it's true that you're not alone".
After this, we move onto I Am Not Skilled to Understand, which is full of horn riffs, a playful guitar line and harmonies from the pair backed by the choir. Then there's what sounds like an old Puritan hymn, There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood, with strummed acoustic and the banjos again.
Seriously, this is powerful stuff. It might be hard for ears used to mainstream tastes to connect straight away, there is no finished, polished feeling about this work - this is experimentation that threw up something worth hearing. But, like your favourite, coffee-stained mug, it's the lack of cleanness that creates the flavour!
And besides, all the proceeds from sales go to Freeset, a charity in Kolkata's slums that empowers women. With the gospel flowing through the lyrics as well as the finances, it has to be worth a try.
Review by Jon Piper
LTTM Rating 5 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
Oh Christ
Our Hope
