In June 1996, seven years after "Hats", the Blue Nile released their third album, entitled "Peace at Last". The album displayed a marked difference in style to the first two records, with Buchanan's acoustic guitar work more to the fore. Buchanan recalled that he had bought the guitar in a New York music shop, and by coincidence Robert Bell had seen the guitar earlier the same day and called Buchanan to tell him about it. A gospel choir made a brief appearance on the lead-off single, "Happiness". Despite the release of "Peace at Last" on a major label, critical reaction to the album was more mixed than for the band's previous records, although sales were good entering the UK album chart at #13.