(Sunday Best/Shock)

With comparisons of New Order and Happy Mondays being levelled at them Grand National have a lot to live up to. Admittedly upon listening to their second single Cherry Tree it’s neither of these seminal bands that come to mind.

Grand National are British duo Lawrence ‘Ra’ Rudd and Rupert Lyddon. With Cherry Tree they demonstrate a love of bubbly and psychedelic pop produced for the dancefloor. It’s not cheesy in a “made for Video Hits” type fashion, simply infectiously fun. Catchy guitar melodies and an upbeat tempo coupled with strong vocal bursts all contribute to the power of this tune. At only 3.14 in length it’s concise and over before you know it.

Also on the CD single are two more Grand National tracks, Rabbit Facts and Lay Me Down. Both more downbeat than the title track but offering a little more depth to the duos sound and proof that they can play around with more than just a catch jangle.

This single does all I can ever hope for from a CD single, make me want to check out their album Kicking the National Habit.