Slaid Cleaves’ seamless musical collection delivers vivid snapshots as wildly cinematic as they are carefully chiseled. Cleaves will play at the Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath on Friday, May 8.

Cleaves, who grew up in Maine, spins stories with a novelist’s eye and a poet’s heart. He explains that when he started writing his recent album, “Still Fighting the War” four years ago, originally each verse was a separate character.

“Each verse was about getting swindled. One was about the economy, one was about a returning veteran, one was about a broken-up couple. It was too cumbersome, so I focused in on the soldier,” Cleaves said. “The key that made it all work came as I was talking to my friend and occasional co-writer, Ron Coy. A troubled Vietnam vet buddy of his had recently passed away. Ron said, ‘All this time, it was like he was still fighting the war.’ I knew instantly that was the perfect way to summarize the song.”

Cleaves will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 advance/$30 door. Advance tickets are available at www.chocolatechurcharts.org and by calling the box office, 207-442-8455.

The Chocolate Church Arts Center is located at 804 Washington Street in Bath.