"How far is the Brill Building?" asks Hal frontman Dave Allen, standing on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Nineteenth Street.

He and his fellow Dublin mates -- bassist (and brother) Paul Allen, keyboardist Stephen O'Brien and drummer Steve Hogan -- have landed in New York a mere forty years after that famed music's factory's prime, but you can't tell by looking at their shaggy heads and retro threads. (Only Hogan's teased short hair reveals that punk rock actually happened.) They lifted their moniker from one of Brill's finest wordsmiths, Hal David -- as well as session drummer Hal Blaine (the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds) and that clever robot from 2001: A Space Odyssey. "They're our favorite Hals," says Dave. "We're proud to share their name."

On their self-titled U.S. debut, released this week, Hal serve their respective namesakes faithfully by crafting literate, lush and often celestial pop. The pristine, bouncy "Fools By Your Side" would have fit snugly on Seventies A.M. radio between 10cc and Todd Rundgren, while the centerpiece suite "My Eyes Are Sore" needs 127 instrumental and vocal tracks to squeeze in all the cellos, trumpets, sleigh bells, tympani drums and falsetto oohs and ahhs.

Despite their lavish production, Hal are quite homespun, having formed in the Allens' home, with the encouragement of their folksinger parents. "There was always music in our house," Dave says. "These two used to break out the guitars and play in the living room," adds Paul of Dave and Stephen. "I'd be in the kitchen making tea and singing along."

Noticing that little brother could carry a tune, Dave and Stephen taught Paul to play bass and invited him to join the group. Instead of working the Dublin club scene, they made home recordings and got the record labels to come to them, showcasing in that very living room. Hogan, whose tastes ran a bit heavier, couldn't resist the demos and jumped in. "I thought they were brilliant," he says.

Wholesome toe-tappers like "Keep Love as Your Golden Rule" and "Slow Down (You've Got a Friend)" reveal the warmth of their birthplace, and reflect a time when rock was, well, young. "We just love good melodies," Paul says.

As for U.K. critics who have tagged Hal "saccharine" -- a term their heroes the Beach Boys, Harry Nilsson and Donovan were likewise subjected to -- Stephen has a reply: "I think they can go -- "

Smiling widely, Dave politely interjects, "Well, I don't think they really mean it."