Juan Wauters releases new album MVD LUV

MVD LUV Album artwork

“catches the sense of wistful dislocation that comes with trying to go home again, the after-hours sidewalk café intimacy of ‘Manejando Por Pando’ or ‘Canciön Mamå’ suggesting quiet reckonings and reorientations. A field recording of its own.” – MOJO

“Wauters' latest is a love letter to that hometown and his first recorded there. It adds candombe, an Afro-Uruguayan form that leans on three tambores (drums) of different sizes, and the Montevidean carnival music known as murga, to guileless, guitar-and-keys indie pop with anecdotal lyrics sung in both English and Spanish.” - Uncut

"We love Juan Wauters, the transient Uruguayan who relocated to New York as a teenager, and who mixes the street sounds of both these environments into his sweet-toothed, earnest and funny Jonathan Richman-like songs. His great Real Life Situations album got us through lockdown and his newest, seventh album MVD Luv is another winner." - The New Cue

“...instant singalong [recalling] South American folk without sounding anything other than Juan, embodying his artistry.” - Remezcla

Today, Juan Wauters has released his long-anticipated seventh studio album via Captured Tracks, MVD LUV, a love letter to his birthplace and hometown of Montevideo, Uruguay. The album explores the sounds of the city and the local genres of candombe and milongón.

More than a decade into his solo career, Wauters has sculpted his musical identity into a charismatic and charming, authentic and arresting tightrope act, balancing on that fine line hanging just below sincerity, and just above performative. On his new album, his skills as a songwriter shine bright. Bursting with joy, the bulk of the songs on MVD LUV are under two minutes in length, but the album as a whole showcases Wauters at his most endearing, writing with fondness and compassion about the Uruguayan city he’s loved and called home. The clarity of purpose in which Wauters utilizes to illustrate Montevideo and its character paint a portrait of an artist with a deep devotion to his craft and subject matter.

Today’s focus track, ‘Mutuación,’ reflects on the quiet tension of transformation–how personal growth can feel both natural and disorienting. Set against a gentle, meditative rhythm, the song explores what it means to adjust to a new version of oneself, while staying connected to the shared language of emotion and expression. It’s a moment of introspection that echoes MVD LUV’s broader themes of identity, artistic evolution, and the ongoing dialogue between past and present.

Stream ‘Mutuación’ here

To celebrate the album’s release, Wauters will be signing copies of MVD LUV and performing in-store at Rough Trade Below in NYC. Earlier this week, Juan hosted a listening party for the new album at Peter Pan Donuts and Pastry Shop in Brooklyn: the same location where he filmed part of the adorable, must-see music video for ‘Dime Amiga,’ which received coverage on the Father’s Day episode of NPR’s Weekend Edition, who called the song “...a love letter inspired by his daughter,” who gives a show-stealing performance in the song’s visual accompaniment. ‘Dime Amiga,’ together with the masterfully directed music videos for ‘If It’s Not Luv‘ and ‘Manejando por Pando,’ were collectively conceived and created by Lucía Garibaldi, Fatos Marishta, Eric McLeland, Matthew Volz and Wauters, and form a three part video sequence, which you can view below.

Watch the MVD LUV music video trilogy below

Wauters also announced recently that he’ll be taking MVD LUV on the road for a fall tour across the United States. Full list of dates below and tickets available for purchase here.

Juan Wauters Tour Dates:
29/06/25 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
26/09/25 - Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
27/09/25 - Washington, D.C @ Pearl Street
28/09/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
30/09/25 - Charlotte, NC @ Petra’s
02/10/25 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
03/10/25 - Nashville, TN @ Cannery Hall
04/10/25 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
07/10/25 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
08/10/25 - Austin, TX @ 29th St. Ballroom
09/10/25 - Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silver Leaf
12/10/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
13/10/25 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
15/10/25 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
17/10/25 - Portland, OR @ Swan Dive
18/10/25 - Seattle, WA @ Substation
19/10/25 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club
20/10/25 - Salt Lake City, UT @ DLC
22/10/25 - Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
24/10/25 - Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
26/10/25 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s

Connect with Juan Wauters:
Apple Music | Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify | TikTok | Website | YouTube