It took a decade, tragedy, mutual support and, inevitably, alcohol and pizza to get them back together, but Brighton-based The Miserable Rich release a new album, their first since 2011’s Miss You In The Days. Overcome, born of trauma but also a testament to deep friendship and love, is the band’s fourth album, and was largely recorded at the five-piece’s various home studios by James de Malplaquet (vocals), Jim Briffett (guitars, piano), Will Calderbank (cello, keyboards, piano), Rhys Lovell (double bass) and Martin Deering (drums) with production assistance and mastering from Lotte Lindenberg’s Wolfgang Gottlieb. It also features guest appearances from Alabaster de Plume, Love Supreme Jazz Festival co-founder Jack Kendon (trumpet, vocals), Dan Cartwright (saxophone), Miserable Rich co-founder – also of The Leisure Society, and formerly Hope of The States and Mumford & Sons – Mike Siddell (violin), Jennifer Left, Kelly Barnes and Bex Fidler (vocals). Overcome contains twelve songs, including ‘Glue’, summer 2023’s hugely personal recent single, and encapsulates all the charms of the band’s earlier string-laden, crafted music, which has garnered acclaim and a dedicated fan base. From the exuberant ‘Ballad Of Young Finn’ and ‘Crows’ to the increasingly defiant ‘Quietly’ and heartfelt closer ‘Poem For Suzanne’, via the elegant ‘Penny For’ – described by de Malplaquet, perhaps flippantly, as “somewhere between Kruder and Dorfmeister and Supertramp, where we’ve always belonged!” – it’s an unmistakable sound, blending elements of indie folk and chamber pop. This time, however, piano, electronics and brass add to their customary mix of acoustic instruments, whether on the rambunctious folk-pop of forthcoming single ‘FHS’, which boasts an unlikely New Orleans twist, the richly textured ‘Everything Bright And New’ or the hushed ‘If Only’, with the latter pair featuring Alabaster de Plume on saxophone.
