“I wonder/ Why it always feels like rain/ My life is like/Some cheap champagne.”

Angst alert! (download)

We’re not just talking run-of-the-mill, daddy doesn’t love me and my moody band-mate boyfriend’s cheating on me with an Abercrombie model. Oh no, this is the real deal! A brief tour through Ms Rose’s oeuvre reveals a joyful wealth of prescription drugs, therapy and abandonment, but this sing-a-long is blessed not only with such overwhelming self-destruction, but a jaunty chord sequence to boot! Hooray!

Bouncing along with altogether more enthusiasm than you’d expect such a sullen poppet to muster, this has an exuberant rhythm section, cute little guitar jig and even a fabulously poptastic male backing chorus layer. In fact, if you ignore the opening scream, you could almost forget she’s talking about sinking deeper into her own depression just to test the ambivalence of her nearest and dearest.

Because Katy’s that girl who sits moodily in the corner at parties, consciously expecting her visible distress to attract reams of sympathetic attention. And of course, because she’s a pretty young thing in a ripped silk slip, it does. So, self-fulfilling prophecy in place, she can now go write more songs about how people only care about superficial things. Yay for perpetuating your own sanctimonious misery, my dear!

But thankfully, the bouncy jangles and little jam breakdown made this altogether more palatable than most angst-by-numbers. She even says "You let me go/ Like your sister's kite"! Almost enough to bring a glimmer of sarcastic smile to the pouting lips of any teen guitar queen.