Evan Cheadle – Fault Line Serenade
Victory Pool – 11 June 2021
The sole occasion I had the pleasure of seeing Evan Cheadle play was in a house concert setting so intimate that had I been any closer to him, I’d have been sitting on his lap. Naturally, from such an advantageous seat, I could witness the intricacies of his fluid guitar picking as he breezed through a lovely set of folk and country blues songs in a relaxed manner, mirroring his laidback demeanour. Following the performance, we chatted about his influences; with mention of British folkies and singer-songwriters of the late-60s/early-70s and North American inspirations of an older vintage, it seemed we could’ve happily yakked on all through the night. And while Cheadle has certainly created a singular, contemporary sonic identity of his own, free of any plagiaristic tendencies, the impact of his musical heroes upon his style cannot help but seep through the warm, melodic material on Cheadle’s new album, Fault Line Serenade.
Hailing from Victoria, BC, multi-instrumentalist Cheadle is a young musician with an old soul, drawing on and filtering said classic influences to create gentle, melancholy songs straddling folk and baroque pop, measuredly resplendent with strings and much in the vein of admitted influence Duncan Browne’s early material. Delivered in a distinctive, quavering voice placed somewhere between Marc Bolan, Kevin Morby, and Nashville Skyline Bob Dylan, the lyrical fare is more often than not downbeat and reflective. Still, when embedded in such sweet melodies, the overall effect is one of solace and campfire cosiness.
Following a couple of standalone tracks in 2016 and 2017, Cheadle’s first physical release was the 7-track Chasing Shadows, released on CD by Big White Cloud Records in 2018. By this time, he’d already attracted the attention of The Deep Dark Woods’ Ryan Boldt, who was also residing in British Columbia’s provincial capital at the time. Boldt produced, engineered, and mixed five tracks of the mini-album, additionally chipping in on various instruments, and ultimately recruiting the musically likeminded Victorian for his own band. Boldt also appears on Fault Line Serenade, on bass guitar this time, and retained from the Chasing Shadows sessions for this debut full-length release are Keenan Mittag-Degala (Elan Noon), violinist Maria Grigoryeva, and cellist Lyudmila Kadyrbaeva – the latter two appearing on The Deep Dark Woods’ recently released Changing Faces. Also present are fellow Deep Dark Wood, guitarist Clayton Linthicum (Kacy & Clayton) – whose pedal steel contributions, especially on I Hear the Singing, are sublime – Colin Nealis (additional strings); drummers Brian Askew (The Everywheres) and Elijah Browning (Aladean Kheroufi), and Fraser Roodbol (Axed At Howards) on backing vocals.
Learning in advance of Cheadle’s principal collaborator for this album had me all a-fluster. One of the best, loveliest, and personally most highly recommended albums to emerge from my part of the world in recent years is If I Am Only My Thoughts by the Victoria band Loving, for whom I’d bought tickets to see in their hometown just before the pandemic, the gig obviously then cancelled. It is Loving’s driving force, David Parry, that Cheadle turned to act as co-architect, if you will, of Fault Line Serenade, receiving substantial instrumental and technical contributions from Parry to assist in bringing its 12 lovely songs to fruition. It’s a dream pairing that has worked wonders on this album, with Parry’s subtle sonic flourishes and precise approach to lo-fi production lending great intimacy to Cheadle’s pastoral material.
Fault Line Serenade has been a while coming; the first single from it – the closing track, Float On Down the Line – appeared back in January 2019, eventually to be followed by No Love Lost, First Morning Light, and Some Fool in March, April and May of this year, respectively. All four songs are gorgeous, as are the album’s remaining eight, much like Changing Faces providing a sorely needed auricular salve for these crazy, cacophonous times.
Fault Line Serenade is released digitally and on vinyl by Victory Pool Music on June 11th.
Website: https://www.evancheadle.com/
BANDCAMP: https://evancheadle.bandcamp.com/
Photo Credit: Riley King