It’s quite one thing to release a huge, saccharine-sweet pop mega-smash laced with more hooks than John West’s tackle box, but to do it again after almost four years in the pop wilderness is to crowbar yourself out of One Hit Wonder territory in the nick of time.

So after adding the equally-earwormy I Really Like You to a greatest hits consisting almost entirely of Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen looks set to create one of the strongest Best Ofs in pop history; it’s just going to take the best part of 20 years to get there.

If, however, you’re prepared to overlook the diabetes-inducing sweetness of her previous opus and delve into her latest album – E●MO●TION – you’ll find an equally satisfying treat in under 60 minutes, without the need for a mouthful of fillings.

Her breakthrough song may have been the biggest selling digital single of all time but it didn’t shift albums or sell out tours, which is where the money exists in modern pop. This time around, then, the label have ensured she’s firmly in Taylor Swift territory; the oh-so-fashionable nu-80s sound is there in spades, and there’s more than a hint of tastemaker-baiting contemporaries like Sky Ferreira, La Roux and Dragonette to the sound.

The standout track is the album opener, Run Away With Me. Frankly any artist brave enough to begin an album with a saxophone solo in 2015 deserves success in my book, and this unexpected anthem dances on the precipice of that exciting sub-genre, ’synthpop semi-banger’.

Everything about this track is significantly more adult-feeling than anything that’s come previously; the video is a virtual carbon copy of Tove Styrke’s Ego, and the lyrics (highlight: “Oh baby, take me to the feeling / I’ll be your sinner in secret”) hint at a side of her personality we’ve not seen before: bad girl. It is eminently likeable.

The difficulty so far has been in convincing the wider public that it’s okay to admit to liking Carly Rae; the words ‘guilty pleasure’ have never been so misplaced.

Entered chart: 17/09/2015

Peak position: 58

Weeks on chart: 5

Who could have a hit with this today: I would say a certain Miss T Swift but she’s more like to pinch Your Type (basically CRJ’s take on Dancing On My Own), so hand this to Ellie Goulding.

Published by Luke Geoffrey

Luke is a 36-year-old copywriter who lives and loves - and loves to live - in Manchester. He sews, cooks and obsesses about pop music. And his waistline. View all posts by Luke Geoffrey