The Soft Cavalry

A heartfelt mix of dream pop, shoegaze, and post-rock, the Soft Cavalry is the project of Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell and her husband, Steve Clarke. On the duo’s 2019 self-titled debut, Clarke took the lead on songs about love, doubt, and creative rebirth.
Clarke’s musical career began in the late ’90s, when he played bass and sang backing vocals with several bands both live and in concert. By the 2010s, he was also a tour manager, and met Goswell in 2014 while working on one of Slowdive’s 2014 reunion tours. The pair fell in love, and Goswell encouraged Clarke to work on some of the songs he’d been hesitant to share with the world. Inspired by his love for her as well as his journey from doubt to creativity, he worked with keyboardist Jesse Chandler, guitarist Tom Livermore, and drummer Stuart Wilkinson, as well as Goswell and his brother, producer Michael Clarke, on music inspired by the soul-baring lyrics and ambitious sounds of Pink Floyd, Talk Talk, and R.E.M.. During this time, Goswell was also busy with other projects. These included her other group Minor Victories, who released their self-titled debut in 2016, and Slowdive, whose eponymous 2017 album was their first in 22 years. Following her collaborations with American Football, Mercury Rev, and Beach Fossils, Goswell and Clarke released The Soft Cavalry in June 2019 on Bella Union Records. ~ Heather Phares