Mid-week Delight: Scarlet Street ~ Troublemaker (Olly Murs cover)

I'm an old soul at heart. I'll take The Chiffon's Sweet Talking Guy over Rihanna's Diamonds. I much prefer The Andrews Sisters' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy to Justin Beiber's Boyfriend. And while of course I do love modern pop, I love it even more when old meets new and becomes nu-traditional pop. And therein, my lovely looking friends, is where the girls collectively known as Scarlet Street come on in. And hurrah for them I say - they take those classic influences from the sounds of 40s & 50s pop music and apply them to a contemporary musical landscape. Their dazzling cover of Olly Murs' Troublemaker (above) is as good an introduction as any to the girls - they apply their exquisite 4 part harmonies to the trouser-filling fella's ubiquitous tune & add a liberal dose of sassy personality so the whole thing sounds pleasingly familiar yet surprisingly fresh and new at the same time. They have deconstructed every element of the original and lovingly recreated it with a glorious big band feel that is heavy on finger clicking realness and sumptuous horn eleganza extravaganza! What makes the song even more vibrant is a sultry seductiveness that the girls bring to the performance, allowing for a gleeful interpretation of the lyrics. Note - their middle 8 of the song is harmonious heaven. Indeed- these vocal arrangements aren't easy to put together, yet are performed with such graceful elegance that they are made to look like anyone could do it. Quite the coup d'etat. Overall it's a stunning package that leaves you breathless, giddy and oh so hungry for more...

(And luckily there is more. They have a vivacious cover of One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful up - though ladies, it's Louis you should be lusting after; in addition they have original material that is just as glorious. Their debut single, Down By The River, will put you in the mood for making love tonight however crappy your day may have been. It's like an audio kiss followed by a cheeky shimmy. Love it! Hoping to catch the girls at Manchester Pride where my beloved Velvet Stream & Scarlett's Roses are also performing. Prior to then, buy the girls EP Barberpop on iTunes)