"Need a little sun to break up all the frustration/ And turn it into love/ Ain't nobody going to tell us what we're going to do"

Now this is a fabulous surprise! Part of the freebie mix from Poptimism (one of the best club nights in London), here comes a crazily infectious little gem from the ex-Eve’s Plum singer better known for a track that stands as a horrifying blight on the pop landscape. God, I hate ‘Graduation’ as much as the next sane person (in fact, I fail to comprehend how even little Lauri and Vicki can, like, be totally moved to tears as they scribble insincerities in each others yearbook and pledge to be silver ring thing buddies 4eva!) yet even I cannot help but be enchanted by this bouncing burst of pleasure.

Perhaps I’m powerless to resist cheerleader chanting, or maybe it’s the mindlessly repetitive honeyed vocals that suck me into the whirling vortex of idealized Californian beach imagery (the kind of faux-fifties partying that every US teen sitcom needs to find itself indulging in). Either way, toast me some s’mores and let me jive with a wholesome jock named Chip, because I’m sold!

A complete composite, it takes the verse tune from Tricky’s ‘Black Steel’, combines it with pure ‘Sound of the Underground’ surf guitar riff (that’s right: Pre-Girls Aloud, Girls Aloud-sounding pop!) and throws in a sped-up OMD intro sample, because hey, why ever not? The structure is as perfect as if they kissed the ‘blueprint for pop perfection’ goodnight since first imagining a world filled with joyful pop jewels, (for the technical amongst you, the thirty second middle-8 ‘mix and yell’ breakdown hits at 1 minute 53). I can’t track down the producer/writing credits, but I’ll be extremely surprised if they haven’t surfaced again in some spectacular form.