“Skyline Serenade: Barney Goodall’s ‘Highrise’ Soars with Heart and Groove”

Barney Goodall’s Highrise feels like a sun-soaked memory you can’t quite let go of, one of those songs that smells faintly of late-summer air and city pavement still warm from the day. The Liverpool-based artist wrote, recorded, and performed most of it himself, but you wouldn’t guess that from the lush, full-band feel it carries. There’s an easy confidence to the arrangement, a shimmer of guitars, a pulse of rhythm that knows exactly where it’s going, and those unmistakable funky bass licks from Tristan Apperly tying it all together.

What makes Highrise stand out isn’t just its groove but its warmth. It’s a song about presence, about catching those fleeting moments with people who make ordinary days feel electric. You can almost picture Goodall looking out over Sefton Park’s skyline, reflecting on friendships and summers that fade too soon. The soundscape shifts fluidly, with subtle textures that nod to Air’s smooth electronica while staying rooted in the earthy spirit of Liverpool’s indie scene.

Recorded in his own carefully crafted Sandown Studios, Highrise captures both craft and spontaneity, the spark of musicians who know their city, their scene, and their sound. It’s catchy without trying, cool without posing, and ultimately, it lingers like the last golden hour of a season you wish had lasted longer.