It’s been nearly 10 years since the Polyphonic Spree released their fuzzy, feel-good single “Light and Day.” Yet if you’ve seen the trailer for 2012 movie The Lorax, you’ve recently heard that familiar tune. The single first gained attention back when iPods only came in one size (huge), when Apple and Volkswagen used it for a joint ad campaign.

When Polyphonic Spree frontman and founder Tim DeLaughter wrote “Light and Day,” he didn’t imagine it becoming a literal commercial success. In 2010, a study concluded it was the most used song in advertising within the United Kingdom.

“Honestly, I was writing a 30-minute set for our first show and fell into that song, lyrically and all,” says DeLaughter. “I liked it as it was the only upbeat song I’d written at that time. But I didn’t think too much of it except that it would make a nice ending for the show. Weeks later when we went to record I nearly blew that song off, not because I didn’t like it but just because I wasn’t sure it really fit with the other material.”

For the Polyphonic Spree, a 20-plus-member band whose genre is closest to psychedelic choir rock, radio success was improbable. Psychedelic pop choir rock doesn’t exactly fit into a Top 40 station’s playlist. DeLaughter describes their commercial popularity as vital. It continues to expose the Spree to a wide audience, and since it’s used in scores so often, those audiences are consistently reminded of the song.

DeLaughter hasn’t focused all his energy on one single. Since 2003, DeLaughter and Polyphonic Spree toured, released numerous albums (including 2007’s The Fragile Army, which is also when they last played the House of Blues. The album and show marked a departure for the band as it traded in its white robes for a black, military uniform and long, hippy locks for shorter, razor-cut hair. Still, the music remained true to the sweeping, symphonic feel of what had come before, and last December the band returned with a Christmas song, “It’s Christmas,” a preview of the Christmas album DeLaughter intends to release in 2012. The Polyphonic Spree is on the first leg of their three-part You + Me tour, which comes to the House of Blues tonight.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bHdzTUNw-4[/youtube]

The show starts at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door. 18 and over.