Juan Wauters MVD LUV
Juan Wauters's MVD LUV sketches Montevideo in short, sunlit vignettes that blend local folk traditions with intimate confession. Critics agree the record's strengths lie where place and feeling intersect, and with a 68.5/100 consensus score across 2 professional reviews the collection earns praise for its exuberant moments even as some point to its brisk pacing.
Across reviews, standout tracks emerge consistently: “La Lucía” and “Aeropuerto” are singled out as the record's most fully realized scenes, while “Manejando por Pando” supplies carnival-like momentum. Pitchfork highlights how percussion and murga-tinged thrust root Wauters' wandering voice in city streets, and names the piano ballad “Acting Like I Don't Know” as a quietly shocking emotional center. Under The Radar calls MVD LUV a folk-pop documentary recorded on Montevideo sidewalks, celebrating its joyous immediacy but noting that several tracks feel hurried and would benefit from more breathing room.
That tension between exuberance and brevity runs through the critical consensus: reviewers consistently praise the album's homecoming narrative, Uruguayan color, and candid introspection, while some critics find the pacing unstable. For readers asking is MVD LUV good, the answer is mixed-positive — a rewarding, if occasionally rushed, snapshot of place, identity, and the pull between stability and wandering. Scroll down for full reviews and track-by-track notes on the best songs on MVD LUV.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Manejando por Pando
1 mention
"Burbles of drum syncopations drive "Manejando por Pando""— Pitchfork
La Lucía
2 mentions
"Burbles of drum syncopations drive "Manejando por Pando" and "La Lucía,""— Pitchfork
Aeropuerto
2 mentions
"“Aeropuerto” bursts into life behind insistent rhythms"— Pitchfork
Burbles of drum syncopations drive "Manejando por Pando"
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Amor Montevideo
If It's Not Luv
Manejando por Pando
Acting Like I Don't Know
Canción Mamá
Dime Amiga
La Lucía
Mutuación
Niño
Get A Habit
Aeropuerto
Lonely By Myself
Ando con Miedo
Siempre Vuelven
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Juan Wauters’s MVD LUV finds its best songs in moments that marry place and feeling, notably “Manejando por Pando” and “Aeropuerto”, where local rhythms and heartfelt lines make the tracks sing. The reviewer hears Montevideo in the burbles of percussion and the murga-tinged thrust of “Aeropuerto”, and praises how “Manejando por Pando” drives forward with drum syncopations that feel like a passing carnival. He singles out the piano ballad “Acting Like I Don’t Know” for its frank admission and quiet shock, and notes the closing acoustic surge as a fitting summation of the album’s return-home arc. This is an album whose best tracks are those that root Wauters’ wandering voice in a tangible cityscape while still letting personal doubts surface.
Key Points
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The best song(s) anchor Wauters’ wandering voice in Montevideo through local rhythms and palpable detail.
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The album’s core strengths are its deft incorporation of Uruguayan folk elements and candid, intimate lyricism.
Themes
Critic's Take
Shaun Soman hears Juan Wauters returning home on MVD LUV, a folk-pop documentary recorded on Montevideo sidewalks that sparkles with exuberance even as it feels hurried. The best songs - “La Lucía” and “Aeropuerto” - stand out because they suggest fuller scenes, La Lucía by being the rare expansive moment and Aeropuerto by hinting at an amurga session before fading. Soman wants more breathing room for tracks like “If It’s Not Luv” and “Canción Mamá” and the narrative voice keeps the listener smiling while wishing for longer takes. The review’s tone is affectionate but corrective, praising the album’s joyous immediacy while flagging its rushed pacing.
Key Points
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“La Lucía” is best because it is the album’s rare expansive moment, nearly four-and-half minutes long and giving the record breathing room.
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The album’s core strengths are its exuberant, home-recorded folk-pop intimacy and vivid sense of place, even as its short runtimes create a rushed pace.