Lily Allen is back - and she's going to have her cake and eat it too.

Lily's taken time out from the pop-world to have a couple of kids, and Hard Out Here is her big comeback single, demonstrating that her rare ability to combine humour and sharp lyrics with accessible pop remains undimmed. It's all about how, more than ever, females must look great in order to succeed in this world – but the video directed by Chris Sweeney has it both ways. It satirizes the crass values of showbusiness (and, by extension, music videos) but also, with its tongue sometimes in its cheek, sometimes not, plays by the rules.

First of all, there's the comedy prologue, with Lily on the operating table, undergoing lyposuction in order to look beautiful enough to resume her career - overlooked by a disgusted, misogynistic manager. Then she's on the set of her video, complete with raunchy dancers and obligatory twerking – and joining in. From then on the video finds a place between spoof and playing it straight – incorporating several brand pack shots in the process.

Irreverent and fun - always important in a pop video – and those who are hard of hearing may just focus on the wobbling bottoms. But it's still a subversive way to get across Lily's very important message. And she's not exactly shy of telling us about her less than perfect post-baby body, as her balloon message in the third pic above proves...