We may as well get the obvious comparison out of the way early with the debut album from New York’s The Welcome Wagon. Almost as a mentor, Sufjan Stevens plays the role of producer, engineer and arranger on this selection of songs recorded over a number of years. His style of orchestral indie pop music is stamped all over the album with familiar female vocal harmonies, banjo plucks and string sections immediately bringing to mind Stevens’ last few records. Thematically The Welcome Wagons operate closest to Stevens’ 2004 release Seven Swans which most directly addressed the issues of faith and his religion. In fact, on revisiting Seven Swans it is surprising how similar both records are. Hit random on the two of them and most tracks could appear on either album with the casual listener being none the wiser.

The story of The Welcome Wagon is an interesting one that the press releases are eager to stress. In a nutshell it is the first album from Presbyterian pastor Rev. Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique. Recorded in a number of different locations (living rooms, churches etc) it is the sound of a couple who began playing and singing hymns together alone at home. With little musical experience they slowly developed their own style of gospel folk which took them out into the public realm with gigs in local churches and bars.

The first track that makes it’s mark on Welcome To The Welcome Wagon is ‘Sold! To The Nice Rich Man’ which is one of the album’s most complete pop songs with its horns and upbeat rhythm section bordering on hymnal funk if such a genre needs to be coined. It trades in the same type of lovely bouncy melodies that Belle & Sebastian do so well on tracks like ‘I’m a Cuckoo’.

The middle section rolls by with no songs standing out among the gently rocking hymns and devoted dedications to their Lord. They are all peacefully paced and melodically rich but in an almost harmless fashion. They are the kind of songs that you hear and think “aw, what a nice song” but there is nothing to compel you to hit repeat or make a mental note to add it to a playlist. It isn’t until the back third of the album where things become more interesting.

Of a couple of covers of contemporary songs, ‘Half a Person’ (The Smiths) is the one that doesn’t work. It comes across twee and naive with Monique’s sugary chiming vocal and a subject matter that doesn’t add to the theme and feel of the rest of the record. In contrast, the next song, The Velvet Underground’s ‘Jesus’, is a Spiritualized styled gospel cry from the pews. It works wonderfully and sounds like the song that Jason Pierce has been playing for many years now. Taking its lead and building on the emotion of the previous track is ‘I am a Stranger’, the highlight of the album. It continues the gospel fervor and works it up into a majestic soul stew of drums, electric guitar and a strong, rich sounding choir that leads the song onward and upwards over its 6 minute duration. It works so well because it replicates that feeling of a united congregation, arms aloft in passionate praise.

Like Stevens and other contemporary indie artists who incorporate their faith into their music, The Welcome Wagon don’t overtly preach their beliefs. Instead they gently praise their maker and frame their religion with songs about love, the search for salvation and the quiet comforts of faith. Fittingly the last track on the album summarizes where they are coming from with a homespun folk tune about the sacrifice that Jesus made for his followers. Stripped of any Sufjanisms ‘Deep Were His Wounds, And Red’ has an innocent simplicity to it and it shows the quiet charm and essence of who the Rev. Vito and Monique Aiuto are. Although Welcome To The Welcome Wagon is a strong debut, the omnipresence of Stevens across the record inevitably leaves us pondering where he will take us with his own followup to Illinois.