The Miserable Rich – Miss You In the Days
That the Miserable Rich have an original sound is apparent from the first few sea-shanty notes of Laid Up In Lavender. Third album, Miss You In The Days, is a collection of ghost stories, recorded – so the press release goes – in haunted houses across the UK, and has a suitably spooky release date on October 31st. It’s certainly a gimmick suited to the band's less than usual chamber line-up of cello, double bass, vocals, and less often than you might think, guitar.
It’s a beguiling mix, and focuses the attention neatly on a collection of folk songs laced with an edge and slight bitterness. The vocal melody on Tramps may have echoes of the Divine Comedy, but the sawing cello never lets the tune become that comfortable; ‘on a certain night you’ll find me here in your room’ sings James de Malplaquet on ‘On A Certain Night’, and it’s clear that his, or his character’s intentions, are far from benign. Although there’s common ground with Mumford and Sons, and other new folk successes, the sense of otherness, at least on this record’s best moments, sets it apart.