The Miserable Rich - Overcome (2024) [Hi-Res]

Our first studio album in 12 years - and perhaps our most meaningful and immediate.

The title comes from an area of language I had been exploring with my students; the contranym – words which are the opposite of themselves. Dust, buckle and sanction are all good examples of these. I liked how The Miserable Rich Overcome could have interpretations of strength and of weakness.

In truth, the album came about due to both these things. It is the product of us getting together because some of us were going through some particularly difficult times. The music was a good excuse to hang out. Pizza, beer. Talk. Occasional tune. After a while, we kind of had an album.

On many hills in Sussex, you can see these beautifully bent hawthorn trees. They incredibly compelling, shaped by the harsh coastal winds, and it is hard not to anthropomorphise them. They are beautiful to us because they look like they have been through great difficulty. Without this – the less misshapen trees are far less eye-catching. The beauty is the product of this perceived pain.

I thought this would be a fitting emblem for the album. I googled images and found an amazing one. I found the photographer on Facebook and asked him where it was. He was very kind and sent me a pin, it was just next to Cuckmere Haven – a very special place for me wife and I. it is where we took our son’s ashes – a place we go back to each year on the anniversary of his death to launch a boat I carve for him and mu wife fills with orange flowers she has collected for him. It is very close to the place we organise a sponsored walk each year for the charity we started in his name.

I photographed the tree in winter and in late spring bloom to represent both the desperation and the hope that are part of making and meaning of the record. You can flip the vinyl over to reflect which side is closest to your mood.