Over the rolling drums and rumbling bass, a breezy keyboard melody marks Neil Finn's arrival: "It's a Saturday sun and the game is still on." And, just like that, everything is as it should be. 

When Crowded House returned in 2007, the comeback was unsurprisingly careful and considered. Time On Earth was their first studio album in almost 15 years, their first since the suicide of beloved drummer Paul Hester, their first featuring multiple lineups and producers.

Now Saturday Sun marks a new dawn. The opening track of Intriguer reveals the sound of a complete band, one that has played together for three years, one that is no longer looking back.

Not that their sixth album is considerably different from its predecessors. Finn is still the chief songwriter, still has a way with melodies that rivals Lennon-McCartney, still better at the prettier tunes than the rockier ones.

But now, as performed by a genuinely unified group, his songs brim with a carefree confidence rivalling the band's Woodface heyday. Co-founder Nick Seymour's basslines anchor everything from the loping travelogue Amsterdam to the indie rocker Inside Out. Stalwart Mark Hart's keyboard flourishes further lift the soaring Archer's Arrows, punctuate the introspective Even If, and add to the hope of the ambitious Either Side Of The World. And new boy Matt Sherrod is equally at home providing a solid backbeat to the mashed up slide guitar of bubbly Twice If You're Lucky and brushing the skins on mournful piano lullaby Elephants.

All the elements come together perfectly on the emotionally fraught Isolation, which descends from quiet intimacy into sheer anguish, psychedelic guitar, and epic beauty.

Welcome back, Crowded House.