Vinyl – https://craftingroomrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/gathering-dust
Across the full span of ‘Gathering Dust’, Goodall utilises the ensemble’s orchestral breadth to transform the album’s concept into a vivid, widescreen dreamscape. While the subject matter flows between heavy themes, the arrangements remain lush and buoyant, ensuring the record never sinks into melodrama. ‘Gathering Dust’ is a strange, shimmering beauty; pairing the harmonic complexity of 70s jazz-pop with a raw, modern vulnerability that feels strikingly personal.
‘Paving Stones’ offers a key entry point into the world of Soft Top, introducing the album’s central themes of life, death and the uncertain space in between. The record unfolds as a conceptual narrative, following a character left comatose after being hit by a car on the way to a house party. ‘Your Aching Words’ (released February 13th) served as the opening chapter to the album and each track examines a different facet of that suspended existence: the world continuing without him, the strange pull of “coma-land” and the blurred boundary between reality and imagination.
Musically, Soft Top’s songs pair intimate, story-driven lyricism with rich, carefully layered arrangements, brought to life by a seven-piece band (featuring Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Clarinet, Cello, and Flute) whose textures move gently between indie rock, chamber pop and soft rock. The result is a sound that tugs at the heartstrings quietly and deliberately.
Formed in March 2023 as the songwriting project of Miles Goodall, Soft Top blends classic soft-rock warmth with a distinctly modern indie intimacy. The project draws influence from the narrative detail of Andy Shauf, the melodic sensitivity of Matt Maltese and the lush arrangements of Steely Dan.
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Paying artist fairly and supporting charity since 2019
Website – https://craftingroomrecordings.co.uk/
Bandcamp – https://craftingroomrecordings.bandcamp.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crafting_room/
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Independent record label based in Brighton -Dream Pop – Indie Rock – Ambient Music – Founded 2019 by Archie Sagers