From the outset, this song feels laboured. It is not that the band lack compositional technique, indeed, for much of the song charming, quirky riffs can be heard ebbing and flowing through the bass line and melodic harmonies.
However, technically, what I am sure is an artistic choice to sound decidedly rough around the edges does not quite work here; where "The Jam" manage to create a sound which is ever so slightly jarring and 'rough', they maintain the balance between excellence and shabbiness. Here, however, the rough is far more noticeable, and actually discredits the band's obvious talent.
Perhaps I am just getting too old (21) to appreciate this clunk-chunk mash-up, but with a bit of refinement, and less flailing arms on the drums and wavering notes from the lead singer, this band could be onto something...

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I felt for a minute I had returned to the back room of my local to hear the ever cheery middle-aged blues band doing their stuff with the honky-tonk piano and hand-me-down double bass, but right here lies the charm of this simple blues troupe.

It is fair to say the band could do with a new lyricist and a slightly more imaginative percussionist, but what works so well about this band is that it is not too serious- the fun exudes from the music, it gets your toes tapping. Technically, the lead is sometimes slightly to oppressive, and it would be nice to hear more variation in the singer's tone, but mostly it fits very well. In particular, the dialogue between guitar and harmonica is stylishly and innovatively poised, and once again remains playful, making the music seem much more amiable against the rugged vocals (which is a good thing- the contrast works well).

All in all, I am not sure this band should move from the back room of my local, purely because it is what it is- this is not ground-breaking music we are hearing, but it is music worth listening to, particularly with an accompanying pint of Best.

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Intrigued as to whether this would be a new version of the ever-popular Labelle track or something completely different, I listened to it "cold" without reading anything about Lady M and the Mr Men.

On reading up on them afterwards it is no surprise that they are an experienced wedding band, hailing from Sussex. In essence this is a straighforward version of the original pop song. The harmonies are good, musicianship clean and there is a strong lead vocal from Lady M, though this displays some signs of strain on the "big notes", and I did feel that momentum was lost a little in the bridge.

There is nothing particularly new or different in this version, but then perhaps that's not the aim. It's a confident and polished presentation of a much-covered party classic, that I'm sure would get or keep people up on the dancefloor and belting out the lyrics along with the band.

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