Wayfarer Beware: Reichenbach Falls

Americana-folk act, Reichenbach Falls, is essentially singer-songwriter, Abe Davies, who is of Canadian descent but was raised in England. On his first studio album in nine years, Wayfarer Beware, he’s joined by producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Anderson.

Davies is currently living in a remote part of Scotland, and has a small recording setup at home. His songs started out as acoustic guitar and vocal tracks and were then sent to Anderson in Vancover. He created inventive and inspired arrangements, adding electric and acoustic guitar, piano, vintage synths, drums, pedal steel, organ and Mellotron along the way.

Wayfarer Beware opens with the short instrumental, ‘Prelude’, which is laced with pedal steel, and, with its hushed and filmic atmosphere, perfectly sets the tone for what’s to follow – a intimate and wintry soundtrack.

These cinematic and autobiographical songs, which often feature references to snow, woods, rivers, trains and Christmas, recount the breakup of a couple between upstate New York and rural Scotland over the course of a single autumn and winter. 

However, as Davies explains to hi-fi+, he didn’t want to make just another breakup album, so treated the record more like a screenplay – even going so far as to create a fictional character called Rosie, who is the couple’s daughter.

“I tried to tie the record together with conversations that the couple are having between themselves, but also through Rosie,” says Davies.

On the first song proper, the beautifully sad, alt-country lament, ‘Gone As Sure As Trains’, which, coincidentally, was also the first song recorded for the album – Davies sings: ‘I watched the snow turn grey on the tracks as they just disappeared behind us’, adding: ‘I can tell I’ve touched your face for the last time.’ 

‘The Cold, The Glow’ is another melancholy and wintry song set on a train: “Late afternoon, already dark this far north. I wouldn’t wish this f***ing cold on anyone.” 

It starts with a gorgeous, stripped-back, shuffling arrangement – largely acoustic guitar and drums – but, mid-song, it picks up its pace, before Anderson lets loose with a great and slightly unsettling electric guitar solo, changing the dynamic. 

‘A House Back In The Woods’ is a song about missed opportunities and places never visited – you can actually imagine it being written in a remote log cabin. A mournful Mellotron brass sound only adds to the sadness. 

The piano-led, ‘Before We Left Michigan’, whose lyrics the album takes its title from – ‘This river is a killer… Wayfarer beware – there are bodies down there’ – manages to be both beautiful and foreboding, and ‘I’ll Be A Crow Around Your Neck’ is a sparse ballad, which is just largely acoustic guitar and subtle, twinkling synths, until it’s fleshed out with drums in the latter part of the song – you could imagine it soundtracking a lonely walk through freezing New York in the days before Christmas.

The last two songs, ‘Hey Rosie’ and ‘Winterhead (Hudson River Lighthouse)’, are more optimistic than a lot of what’s gone before – the former has a gentle, folky feel and Simon & Garfunkel-style harmonies, while the latter, with its piano and warm organ, recalls Automatic For The People-era R.E.M.

Fans of Elliott Smith, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes will appreciate Wayfarer Beware, which is a wonderfully rewarding and moving record.

Reichenbach Falls have also drawn comparisons to The National and Grant Lee Buffalo in the past.

Davies’ first album, which came out in 2013, was called Reports of Snow, so he has previous when it comes to being inspired by harsh weather.

“I’ll try to write a summery album next, but I don’t know if I have it in me,” he jokes.

Wayfarer Beware isn’t currently available as a physical release, only streaming and download, but there are plans for a CD and hopefully a vinyl pressing. Let’s pray that happens in time for the winter.

Back to Music