Lighthouse Family - Whatever Gets You Through The Day (2001)

Renowned for their chilled-out brand of summery soul-pop, Newcastle-based duo Lighthouse Family quietly became one of the biggest acts of the mid-'90s, with both debut Ocean Drive and follow-up Postcards from Heaven selling in excess of two million copies in the U.K. alone. Despite their success, they've never quite convinced the music critics in the same way, with their radio-friendly easy listening sound, simple but polished acoustic production, and lead singer Tunde Baiyewu's laid-back, velvet-smooth vocals often lumped in the same bland MOR coffee-table music category as the likes of Simply Red, Wet Wet Wet, and M People. Third album Whatever Gets You Through the Day doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but does indicate that perhaps chief songwriter and producer Paul Tucker has taken some of the criticism on board. The mellow string-soaked midtempos -- which have become their signature sound -- are still here in abundance, such as the uplifting gospel choir-backed "End of the Sky" and the flamenco-led "It's a Beautiful Day," while their fusion of Nina Simone's "(I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be) Free" and U2's "One" is tastefully done, but is hardly the most imaginative of mash-ups. However, elsewhere there's a sense of invention that has been sorely lacking on their previous output. Unfamiliar flashes of electronica open up the sumptuous "Life's a Dream," a clever blend of '60s lounge pop and trip-hop beats; the infectious guitar licks and disco rhythms of "Happy" recall the filtered Gallic house of Modjo and Stardust; and penultimate track "Wish" even takes a convincing stab at anthemic indie pop. Best of all is the glorious "Run," an enchanting combination of lolloping percussion, funky brass hooks, and subtle acoustic riffs that recalls the blissful chillout of Groove Armada's "At the River." Whatever Gets You Through the Day is unlikely to provide any future airplay staples in the vein of "Lifted" or "High," but it's a much more interesting effort that fuses a wider range of influences with their trademark feel-good style.