Twelve Ways To Count album reviews:
" ...so heartbreakingly beautiful, it reduces anyone who hears it to a weeping mess."
8/10 NME
"Recorded in the front room of singer James De Malplaquet’s Brighton home, The Miserable Rich’s striking, fully fledged debut immediately sets them apart. Five in number, they play what can perhaps be best described as acoustic chamber pop, everything coming decorously draped with the rather mournful accompaniment of cello and violin. Beyond that, though, it’s De Malplaquet’s warm, hazy voice coupled with the songs’ ruminative aspect that impress most, from tales of drunks and bonnie barmaids to such beautifully tender moments as Boat Song and The Knife Thrower’s Hand. A handsome, original start."
Q
"Breathtaking... Easily the best record of 2008" Americana UK
"There is no other band around at the moment who creates music like this, and yet Twelve Ways To Count shows how simple and effective it is. With delicate singing, plucking strings and floating violins, any of these twelve tracks can lift you up and carry you along a cloud into a tranquil equilibrium... they have created a piece of art that is gentle brilliance which needs to be introduced into your life." Bearded
"warm acoustic loveliness" Rocksound
" A beautiful, intelligent and smart album, Twelve Ways To Count shows The Miserable Rich are a rare find." 4.5/5 Subba-cultcha.com
"...a cracking album full of tender, dark, warm, thoughtful and euphoric songs that'll keep you humming along all day long" Piccadilly Records - Record of the Week
"If you've stumbled across their inspired reworking of Hot Chip's 'Over and Over' on your music-buying travels, you'll know that these guys are something special. If not, fear not, this is the perfect place to start. The band describe themselves as a "bar-room chamber quintet", a fair description in truth, but as with most things this beautiful, this heart-warming and this special, you really need to ditch the soundbites, swerve the superlatives and check them out for yourselves. Amazing!" *****
"Leftfield Single of the month" DJ MAG
"It's amazing how a band so fresh can have so much quality......one of the best sessions we've ever had" Marc Riley, BBC 6Music
"Destined to be one of the singles of the year" Gideon Coe, BBC 6Music
"One of the few bands to unite the entire office, which is a rarity enough to earn them a place, but more so because they write the kind of tunes capable of uniting nations." Top 20 bands of 2007, Source magazine
"British band The Miserable Rich offers beautifully reflective sounds, influenced by classical compositions. Serene strings back softly expressive vocals. Exquisitely written, arranged and performed. This is music to sigh to." Palo Alto Daily News
"Today I found out about a new UK quintet that goes by The Miserable Rich. They make beautiful acoustic chamber pop that I find stands up well alongside like-minded artists (and TYS favs) like Lost in the Trees and Brooke Waggoner. One listen was enough for me to start posting this, and even though I know next to nothing about this band, I know I want to pay attention to what they’re doing. They have an album out in Europe come March titled 12 Ways to Count, but beyond that all I know is you can listen to 4 tracks of theirs on their blog as well as the ones on their myspace. I’ll keep you all posted when I know more, but I figured this is just too good to keep a secret. Great for sitting back, closing your eyes, and relaxing. In the meantime, enjoy the cover they did of Hot Chip’s “Over and Over.” Bet you never knew that you wanted that song to have a dark chamber pop reworking, did you? Enjoy…" The Yellow Stereo.com
"this is homage not fromage" Rob Da Bank, Radio 1 playing our cover of Hot Chip's 'Over and Over'
"The Miserable Rich Steal Hot Chip’s Hot Bitch
The history of the cover version has thrown up many corkers, amongst them Soft Cell (Gloria Scott’s 'Tainted Love'), Jimi Hendrix (Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’) and Aretha Franklin, trumping Otis Redding’s ‘Respect’ and making it her own.
The Miserable Rich tossed their car-keys into the song-swap fruit-bowl, leaving arm-in-arm with Hot Chip’s most attractive offering, ‘Over & Over’ and whisked her off for an evening of luke-warm loving. Making off with the best Hot Chip had in their harem is one thing, but returning her with a cheeky glint in her eye, and a grateful smile on her lips is quite another. It’s classy, it’s cheeky and it’s a bit fucking weird…" Beatmag.net
The Miserable Rich make their first foray into 2010 by announcing details of a new single and several live shows. Brighton’s finest chamber pop quintet are releasing ‘Somerhill’ on the 29th March on limited edition 7” and download.
‘Somerhill’ is the first single to be taken from the forthcoming second album ‘Of Flight And Fury’. After the success of their debut outing, ‘Twelve Ways To Count’, and the little bit of fun they had last year with their ‘Covers EP’, the band return with a new album of wholly original material.
The Miserable Rich's name was inspired by an experience they had playing at the wedding of two ultra-rich aristocrats in Rome. Cellist/pianist William Calderbank and debonair singer/percussionist James de Malplaquet formed the string quintet intending to produce 'unusual acoustic modern music'. The decision was also made to steadfastly adhere to a plan of using the cello and violin as the lead instruments, which has undoubtedly allowed them to mould a unique sound. Their music has been revered by Bearded magazine as 'pop music that could soundtrack a nursery rhyme created by Tim Burton', and seduced the well-tuned ears of NME, Drowned in Sound and Q.
The Miserable Rich fitted the recording sessions for the new album into last year's hectic schedule of touring - which took them to New York, SXSW, and on several trips to Europe - and then handed the recordings over to Al Scott (The Levellers, Eliza Carthy, Asian Dub Foundation) for mixing. The end result is the sonically luxurious ‘Of Flight And Fury’.
When asked about ‘Somerhill’, James writes "It started when Will came to the band with a piano piece: it was, I think, the first song he’d brought to the band, despite his having played on numerous other writer’s tunes. We all loved it, and were extremely keen to get together and find an arrangement and vocal for it.”
Somerhill is the name of the local junior school between James, Jim and Rhys’s houses, where the band rehearse. The song is full of Brighton reference points, including arguably its greatest pub – The Basketmaker’s Arms – and one of the barmen, Eddie. It's about falling for a yummy mummy in a small town where ‘everyone knows who you are’: the sneaking around; the secret smiles; the stolen kisses.
The b-side, ‘Bye Bye Kitty’, was written by cellist Will in the aftermath of James’s birthday. Having been taken back to a friend’s house, his imaginative/drunken decision to cycle home late that night had immediate consequences as he came a cropper on a perilous corner and stuffed his knee up completely. Unable to work for the rest of the year (he was a bicycle courier), he had time to mull over the events and write this rather opulent melody.
Catch them while they're still playing small venues and cheerily selling their own merchandise; anything from t-shirts and bags to bells, fridge magnets and, erm, knickers.
If you like 'em, let 'em know.
They like that. Don't we all.
"Bye Bye Kitty" by The Miserable Rich on my radio show, The British Breakfast on WRIR 97.3FM Richmond, Virginia USA and streamed live on www.wrir.org this Saturday between 9-11AMEDT which is 2-4PM UK time. Cheers, Gene Pembleton (Facebook)
enjoying your chamber pop immensely and nice collaboration with the brothers pleasant/ autumnal plume for chestnutty sunday, super catchy tune as are most of yours. obviously you are willkommen to pop by mine and take me to your leader anytime. Missed you by a whisker for your final gig in brighton sadly but hope to see you soon. good luck. paulbanham
.. Click on the image above to read our EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with THE MISERABLE RICH - in the May 09 issue of XYZ MAGAZINE! xyzmagazine.co.uk/blog/wordpress
Hi Guys, Thanks for letting me be your friend. I saw/heard you for the first time in Manchester on Tuesday and now I'm a fan. Looking forward to seeing you again soon. spk
"Somerhill" by The Miserable Rich on my radio show, The British Breakfast on WRIR 97.3FM Richmond, Virginia USA and streamed live on www.wrir.org this Saturday morning between 9-11AM which is 2-4PMUK time. Cheers, Gene Pembleton
Hope all's well with you - glad you like the choons! Am currently recording a new collection of songs and a collaoration album as well! Busy, busy! How's Deutschland treating you? Would be good to hook up soon and have a beer and talk musical bollox - lemme know when you're about in Brighton - take care :-) x
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