The Britpop movement had many winners and many losers. As with most of the bands that only found their footing as everyone moved on to other sounds, Dodgy was one of the losers. Which isn’t to say they were bad—several years of success in the home islands and a number of great songs, of which this is their biggest, say otherwise. It’s more that the mid and late 90s seemed to break a lot of artists who’d spent a lot of time paying their dues in small clubs and college radio, slowly building a following until the breakthrough hit—and then found themselves dumped unceremoniously as an apparent one-hit wonder. Some bands manage to put out some of their finest work after that period—witness Imperial Teen—and some bands collapse in on themselves. You could argue it happened to Sebadoh, though they put out an album or two after Harmacy and their one hit, “Ocean”; for Dodgy it happened suddenly in 1998, when singer Nigel Clark left abruptly just as the band was coming off a successful stint at Glastonbury. Though there is another album to the band’s name, 2001’s Real Estate, it was recorded without Clark and gets even less coverage than the rest of the band’s back catalog.

“Good Enough” was a perfect song for the summer of 1996; you can hear the sunshine pouring off the track. And though Dodgy’s oeuvre tended more towards the usual alt-rock melancholy (their previous biggest hit, “In A Room,” is a fine example) it’s the carefree exuberance that wins them accolades here. Little wonder, then, that most people who remember the band at all lists this track amongst their favourites. Ten years later it’s memorable enough that the song gets namechecked in articles about the band’s decision to make nice and reform in November. I guess we’re already at the stage where we’re devouring the cultural remnants of our childhood, so I guess one more reunion makes no difference—if you’re in Britain and you miss the sunny sounds of “Good Enough”, find yourself a music hall sometime near the end of the year and you’re sure to hear it once or twice.