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Album Review

The Miserable Rich
Twelve Ways to Count Humble Soul

Article written by Peter W - Dec 31, 2008

The Miserable Rich - 12 Ways to Count LP

The Miserable Rich is a Brighton-based five piece listing members of both Lightspeed Champion and Clearlake in its ranks, and apparently took shape after playing at an aristocratic wedding in Italy where most guests seemed far from joyous. The band doesn’t aim to emulate that depressed gathering but opts instead for folky, string-laden tuneage that’s easy on the ear; what begins to irk slightly, however, is the band’s unwillingness to throw in any surprises, ensuring this brand of pastoral folk is occasionally pleasant, but frequently predictable, and even a tad tiresome.

Not that there’s anything too wrong with sticking to a tried and tested formula, indeed it’s initially difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes this album such an underwhelming experience - the prime suspect certainly isn’t the music. ‘Pisshead’ is arguably the strongest track on offer (though ‘Poodle’ is a close second) with an assortment of strings, keys and whistles around a mighty fine acoustic guitar centre, but it’s sadly sterilised by the lyrics. Singer, James de Malplaquet is truly a lamenter without a cause; he makes a bland meal out of the most mundane “experiences”, and when the lyrics are supposed to be pondering a weighty subject such as life & death, they’re just excruciatingly unconvincing and cry out for a genuinely witty observation / justification.

At the risk of sounding churlish, the band (at their worst) don’t appear to be miserable or rich, just painfully indifferent; and while there’ll undoubtedly be people who’ll listen to Twelve Ways to Count and hear sweet, innocent, romantic musings over delightful folk pop, I think there’s a plethora of similar bands out there who deliver far better tunes.

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