When The Coral first burst onto a suprised music scene a few years back with their chirpy mix of The Beatles and Captain Beefheart, not many people knew what to make of them, though quite a lot were very impressed. Now they return with third full-length album The Invisible Invasion, but can they still entertain without that element of surprise?

They may not be pretending to be pirates anymore, but James Skelly and Co mean business with this one, which is a relief after messy stop-gap album Nightfreak & The Sons Of Becker.

Jaunty summer anthem In The Morning was a great first single, sounding like the kind of classic pop tune that seems to grow on trees in Merseyside, while So Long Ago is another tune that aches to be heard while chilling out in a park on a hot and sunny afternoon.

However, it's not all sweetness and light in The Invisible Invasion, starting off with She Sings The Mourning, the title of which gives away that the chorus isn't as optimistic ('She sings the morning'?) as it might sound. Arabian Sand is positively worrying with its mantra of "Can you dance with the lepers in the mad man's house?".

A Warning To The Curious sounded a bit dull when performed at CarlingLive 24, but on record the quirky production livens it up quite a bit. Something Inside Of Me has the classic Coral sound that they have already developed so early in their career, right down to the bouncy verses and lead guitar refrains. Thankfully, it still sounds fresh as a daisy.

It's not all great though, as Far From The Crowd is a bit workmanlike, but the aforementioned Arabian Sand certainly perks things up again with the insane lyrics and spiky guitars. Late Afternoon ends proceedings in a mellow and reflective mood, and sums up The Coral's attitude to life perfectly with the line "It's all just a game". It's certainly a fun game too...