B-Side Sunday.

Hark the herald angels sing! B-Side Sunday returns in a blaze of thundrous divinity to cast vapid chart sinnery out of the temple and lift its faithful congregation up by their ears, delivering them into the loving embrace of Our Father with a 3 minute visit to the ‘Side Two’ wing of Pop Heaven. Why? In the immortal words of LL Cool J: “Paradise is very nice”, that’s why. Packing more hooks than an abattoir, this week’s celestial B-Side is ‘Oscillate Wildly’ by those twinkle-eyed everymen, Ver Smiffs. Can I get an aaaaaaaaaaaaaaamen?

As colourful and complex as a Rubix cube designed by Stephen Hawking, ‘Oscillate Wildly’ is a dolcet and honey-laden slab of classic schmindie harmony that feel like rainbows smothering your ears with cotton candy kisses of love and understanding. Despite it lacking the acerbic wit of Moz’s quill, the unmistakably Smithsian jangle marks this out as one of the band’s best songs and an (almost) forgetten gem of pop wonderment. It sparkles like a million wedding rings set in rows, stretching off into a golden sunset on the horizon and is so quintessentially British that you almost expect it to stop halfway through and offer you a cup of tea. B-Side to ‘How Soon Is Now?’ and later released on the compilation album ‘Louder Than Bombs’ in 1987, it was one of the group’s last great songs before a general air of acrimonious malaise took over and they splintered amid threats and insults.

But the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. This remains a testament to all the band promised and achieved, being at once both timeless and a neat summation of the epoch the band helped define. It’s 80s like Patrick Bateman and pastel suits, gleaming cheekily like a polished love egg before slipping inside you with equal ease. As the sanctity of the Lord’s day retreats under the looming shadow of Monday morning, enjoy another B-Side serving that will leave the faithful in slack-jawed pools of giddy catatonia. Until next week, Amen.