We’ve all felt it during the Covid-19 pandemic, and we’re all still feeling it now, with Covid still very much a thing, and now the looming cost of living crisis, and wars breaking out all over the world. There is a sense of hopelessness in the air, but we aren’t ready to give up – we’re looking for a relief, a sanctuary, a refuge – and just like the title of Dulcie Taylor’s single, we’re looking for a ‘Soft Place To Fall’.

The singer-songwriter from Arroyo Grande, California, knows all too well how much we yearn for those soft places. The music video for ‘A Soft Place To Fall’ has many of those things in abundance: soft white sheets; purring cats going about their business, the sun pouring in through an open window, the peace of a forest glade, the caress of a lover, the eyes of a child.

Dulcie offers us, for nearly 5 and a half minutes, that refuge. It’s not all soft places, she acknowledges that, with reference to protests, cracking ice shelves, and even California’s wildfires. But she unites us in our quest for that soft place, and her voice and guitar playing, as well as that of George Nauful, who co-wrote the song, allows us that solace.

The gentle, intoxicating melody of ‘Soft Place To Fall’ grabs us up like a tight hug, and the gospel-like backing vocals, echo Dulcie’s sweet intonations. Dulcie and George work together like a well-oiled machine, while the drums are slow and steady, pulling the entire song together in its considered rhythms. While Dulcie asks, “What can you do when the news is worse than the night before?” she nonetheless reassures us that here is light, there is hope, there is peace – and a soft place to fall – we only need to hold on, and care for those around us and the world we live in.