hat makes a good pop song? What elements separate a lasting piece of music from, say, Britney Spears? It it lyrics? Instrumentation? The beat? I don't have the answer, but XTC sure does. Their new disc, Wasp Star: Apple Venus Vol. 2, has a heart that pumps pure, exhilarating pop with every beat.


Wasp Star is a return to form for XTC, after last year's lush, orchestrated Apple Venus Vol. 1. While the string-soaked album was impressive, it alienated many fans. On Wasp Star, XTC come back to their nervy, new-wavish geek-boy rock, producing a startlingly fresh album for guys that have been doing this for over 20 years. The result is their best album since 1986's Skylarking.


Filling up an entire album with first-rate songs has always been a problem for frontman Andy Partridge. While that is still a hurdle he needs to overcome (witness the lumbering "Wounded Horse," and the sappy "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful") the remaining ten songs are so well-crafted that those two are easily overlooked.


While most of the songs follow their "What would the Beatles sound like in the 80's" mold, their eclecticism from Apple Venus carries over into many tracks, infusing them with zest. Reggae, blues, and traditional English folk (among others) are woven into the tracks, resulting in a seamless fusion of the familiar and foreign. Other bands (including early XTC) would try and make this into an arty form, but XTC never lets their genius get to their head. And that's why this is pure pop - the influences are never the meat and potatoes of the music, just the parsley sprig on the side.


Songs like "We're All Light" and "Church Of Women" boast reggae beats that are reminiscent of Sting's The Dream Of The Blue Turtles, though nowhere near as dour. In fact, this is an incredibly upbeat and just plain "happy" album. Look no further than "Stupidly Happy" to discover that.


An endlessly looped guitar riff, practically drooling in its own idiocy, draws you in against your will, as Partridge declares "My heart pumping wine / With idiot grin - I'm stupidly happy." It's so sweet you might have cavities by the end, but "Stupidly Happy" is like hot fudge sundaes - completely irresistible.


"I'm The Man Who Murdered Love" is Wasp Star's best track. Guitar-pop at its finest, "...Who Murdered Love" combines Partridge's best lyric of the album with XTC's signature sound. A hilarious fable of - you guessed it - a man who kills love itself, "...Who Murdered Love" is the next in a long line of Partridge songs dealing with being a geek who can't get any. It's bizarrly touching and endlessly funny. Sure, at the end you realize it's only Beatles worship, but when the results are almost as good as their idols, who cares?


While the music will draw you in at first, it's Partridge's lyrics that'll have you coming back for more. Partridge dances through the album with his trademark wit and mastery of the English language. He's like Morrissey on Prozac, commenting on everything from existentialism ("We're All Light") to decaying relationships ("The Wheel & The Maypole"). Funny but never trite, smart but never snobbish, Partidge will have a great job as an English teacher when he's done being a rock star.


Other highlights of the album include the social class commentary of "Playground," the Beatles tribute of "In Another Life," and the affair song "Standing In For Joe." Also check out "The Wheel & The Maypole," a song that makes a breakup sound positively jubilant. I've never heard lines like "Empires crumble in / Wedding cake begins to must and moulder / And what made me think we're any better" sound so happy.


So if you need an antidote to all the rap-rock and boy-bands (the musical equivalent of cheese from a spray-can), check out XTC's Wasp Star. Being a bespectacled, geeky Brit was never this fun.