The Miserable Rich, St Giles in the Fields

If you thought Chamber Pop was dead, think again. The Divine Comedy are back with a new album, Rufus Wainwright is playing Meltdown, and The Leisure Society are gradually building up a cabinet of awards.

The genre may sometimes come over as the musical equivalent of David Mitchell in Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen’s clothes; but over-educated young men, it would seem, will not be easily be distracted from expressing their ironic observations. And Brighton’s The Miserable Rich do such observations as well as anyone.

Perhaps best known for their affectionate portrait of a drunk, "Pisshead", The Miserable Rich have been peddling stories of Englishness and eccentricity since 2007. Their sound comprises guitars and strings, but most distinctive is James de Malplaquet’s voice, which can sound anywhere from Jeff Buckley to the Tiger Lillies depending on how wry the song. And despite appearances the band claims to be neither posh nor wealthy, their name actually coming from parties they've been to. Boy, those sound like some parties! Anyway, who cares if they are a bit posh; surely all the better to observe? True, but it must be pointed out that not all The Miserable Rich songs are ironic vignettes.

Of Flight and Fury, being launched tonight, contains louche, heartfelt, gothic as well as arch. Recorded on a shoestring in their bedrooms (that’d be posh and skint then), it’s a collection of  sketches from a whimsical tale of an affair with a yummy mummy in a Brighton suburb, to the story of a half-human chimpanzee, to a perfectly straightforward break-up song, “Let Me Fade”, which reveals the emotional potential in de Malplaquet’s voice.

But it is a voice that really needs an audience. And what an audience: the sanctified surroundings of St Giles-in-the-saw  hipsters, young mothers, same-sex couples, bank clerks and, in front of me, a pair that were practically having sex with each other. De Malplaquet stood up front looking mainly like Jack Dee, and yet somehow evoking vaudeville. Behind him was a series of back projections, and in front, we, the audience, were invited to consider ourselves part of the performance, particularly in “The Mouth of the Wolf”, where we were encouraged to make eerie noises to accompany. If that sounds contrived, somehow it didn’t at the time. Not with the gothic music, the sinister tenor voice and violin lines being woven by a man with an uncanny resemblance to George Galloway.

Nearly all of the new album was aired, including the singles "Somerhill" and "Chestnut Sunday" which play up to the “clever clever” image. But the real highlights of the evening came at unexpected moments, like in “Bye Bye Kitty” when de Malplaquet really let rip and sounded not unlike Olly Knights from Turin Brakes. Or in the leftfield cover of Iggy Pop’s “Shades” which, with its plink-plonk strings, sounded like one might imagine Nouvelle Vague to sound if they were male and better.

A harder sound surfaced at several points such as the percussive guitar used to illustrate the confusion in chimpanzee Oliver's mind ("Oliver"). And it was counterpointed with a sweet cello and violin. Generally the string arrangements, even with crackling leads and a mediocre sound system, worked impressively well in the surroundings. On the record there are a number of avant-garde 40-second interludes which interrupt the flow of the songs, and make you question whether they are really there to show off. But tonight those moments were better incorporated. The full potential of the instrumentation was probably best realised in “For a Day”, which really did go from free-form jazz to full-out rock evoking the minds of the straggling party-goers it describes. And then, of course, there was “Pisshead”, sung swaying and with glass in hand. And this theme was revisited in the encore “Hungover”, followed by a warm thanks for coming and supporting.

So, do The Miserable Rich go to the top of the class? They’d probably be the first to point out how facile it is to compare bands and put music into genres. But what they are is a lot more than just erudite musings. They have a lot of soul too.

• Find The Miserable Rich on Amazon
• The Miserable Rich are touring until 19 June

Watch The Miserable Rich's new single "Chestnut Sunday" on YouTube