After spending the majority of his adult life thus far in New York, Juan Wauters decides to revisit his native Montevideo, the culturally rich capital of Uruguay. Wauters explored the excitement of falling back in love with his birthplace on his subsequent record, 2023’s Wandering Rebel, but on his seventh studio album MVD LUV — due June 27 via Captured Tracks — Wauters doesn’t just introduce listeners to Montevideo; he invites them to feel at home within it. 

 Having spent much of his career in the United States, Wauters has long carried the dual identity of immigrant and native son. With MVD LUV, a love letter to both his roots and his present, he set out to bridge those worlds by capturing the essence of Montevideo’s streets and communal spirit. Wauters recorded the album between January and October 2024 in various locations across the city, from his own JPW Studios to bustling sidewalks, rooftops, and the homes of featured artists. Having worked in the past with US-based indie favorites like Frankie Cosmos, Mac DeMarco, and Nick Hakim, MVD LUV fills out Wauters’ performances with a crew of local musicians including co-producer Leandro Aquistapacie, Mateo Ottonello, Cecilia “Checha” Rodríguez, and Manuel Silva. Wauters mixed and mastered the record with Nicolás Demczylo at Los Aliados Estudio. Together, these all-Uruguayan artists blend Wauters’ rootsy brand of delightfully simple folk-pop with traditional elements emblematic of the country. Songs like the lively “La Lucía” introduces listeners to candombe, a communal music and dance tradition; recorded spontaneously, it feels less like a studio track and more like a snapshot of a real-life encounter. Meanwhile, “Aeropuerto” and “Siempre Vuelven” evoke sentimentality through murga rhythms, another traditional style of drum-heavy music that’s prominent in Uruguayan culture. The result is immediately immersive, the sprawling coastal city of Montevideo becoming more than just a setting. On MVD LUV, the city is an active presence in the music, a character in itself. 

There’s a sort of pressure you can feel when returning to your hometown after a stint away; you want to be the best version of you, with some tangible evidence that you’ve made a name for yourself. Wauters has no doubt achieved that. But he’s just as susceptible to self-doubt as anyone, and on songs like “Dime Amiga,” he begins to fully realize the safety net of unconditional love he’s built for himself, layering conversational lyrics over a warm, rhythmic arrangement: “Tell me friend, how are you?/Tell me, why are you crying?” he asks in Spanish, spotlighting the power of being fully honest in a place that wholeheartedly accepts you as you are. As years pass and relationships and communities evolve, Wauters suggests, there may be a lingering fear that your place of origin will one day feel foreign. But, as he also exhorts on MVD LUV: ”There are times to fly and get lost and there are also times to return.” Wherever you are, music and love can often make you feel right at home. On MVD LUV, Wauters brings his home, Uruguay, to the global stage.