page_title: The Great Unwanted
section_title: Background and music
hierarchical_section_title: The Great Unwanted / Background and music
caption_attribution_description: English: Ali Howard performing with Lucky Soul at Indie Pop Days at the Wasserturm Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany.
context_page_description: The Great Unwanted is the debut album by British indie pop band Lucky Soul. The band self-released it through Ruffa Lane Records on 9 April 2007.
  The album is heavily influenced by 1960s soul music, featuring string and brass arrangements. Its romantic melodies are often accompany more doleful lyrics. The album received acclaim from music critics, who praised the careful fusion of Lucky Soul's influences. The Great Unwanted yielded five singles but did not find commercial success.
context_section_description: The project began when Andrew Laidlaw was a university student in Scotland. He used a sampler to produce electronic music that he likened to The Avalanches and Saint Etienne. Wanting to achieve a more organic sound, he recruited additional musicians after he moved to London. The group began performing live in June 2005, starting with a performance alongside The Pipettes. As the group wrote songs, lyrics came from Laidlaw and drummer Ivor Sims, and other members prepared the instrumentation. Laidlaw also produced arrangements for string and brass. The band had George Shilling produce the album.
  The Great Unwanted is influenced by pop and soul girl groups of the 1960s. The full-scale string and brass arrangements add a sense of drama to the music. Its instrumentation draws from the emotional candidness of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. Laidlaw also identified Motown and Stax Records as influences. He had a stated desire to balance retro influences with modern production techniques, explaining, "I love the old gear, but it's blinkered if that's all you use. There's plenty of good stuff that's happened in the past 30 years and we use the odd electronic twirl on our music."
  Singer Ali Howard's melodies are romantic and bittersweet. The jubilant lyrics often belie melancholic themes. Howard's sweet, girlish vocals drew comparisons to Dusty Springfield and Sandie Shaw. Music critics noted similarities to alternative dance band Saint Etienne in Howard's affectionate presentation of tragic lyrics.
caption: Ali Howard's vocals were described as "unshowy" and "polished".[5]
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