Oct 18, 2022

By Caleb Campbell

Photography by Denny Renshaw

Brooklyn indie folk duo The Welcome Wagon are back early next month with their fourth full-length album, Esther. The record was envisioned as a meditation on home, peace, and art, forged as the duo reconnected with each other and their music over lockdown. Monique Aiuto made a painting to correspond with each song on the album, matching her art to the songwriting of her husband and bandmate Vito Aiuto.

The band announced the record with their lead single, “Isaiah California,” and ahead of its release, the pair have shared another new track, “Matthew 7:7,” out everywhere now.

“Matthew 7:7” is a light and lithe effort of pastoral folk, burnished by Vito’s stately acoustic strums and Monique’s airy plainspoken vocals. The track’s charms are simple yet enduring, conjuring an effortless sun-lit energy and plaintive lilting lull. Meanwhile, the track’s lyrics are equally straightforward and heartfelt, taking their themes from the titular Bible verse. The result is a track of stark nostalgic warmth, only made more welcoming thanks to the cracked recording from Monique’s grandmother Esther which closes out the song.

Check out the song and video below. Esther is out everywhere via Asthmatic Kitty Records.