Hal cut their teeth on the live circuit with key support slots and spot solo gigs in 2004, getting better and better with each performance. Dave Allen's charismatic stage presence is as individual as his voice it and the harmonies he strikes with brother Paul (it's a blood thing, see Everly Brothers and the Wilson brothers) are enough to melt the stoniest of hearts.

Hal's debut album (released April 25th) is both populist and arcane, modern yet infused with an old school quality. This much you will know if you heard their recent single single, 'What A Lovely Dance'. Most bands aren't endowed with vocals as breathtaking as Dave Allen, whose falsetto-voiced delivery adds Hal's songs a saintly lustre and evokes the days when rock was blessed with a sun-kissed innocence.

Next single 'Play The Hits' is a joyful jolt of new wave euphoria, like Steely Dan racing Saint Etienne down Route 66. Hal's sound is, for all it's accessibility, awash with the kind of esoteric touches that separate the exceptional from the everyday. It's Van Morrison in his blue eyed soulful heyday, it's Brian Wilson jumping out of the sandbox. It's both a perfect piece of pop joy and an aching heartbreaker of an album

Hal are brothers Dave (26, lead vocals/guitar) & Paul (23, vocals, bass), Steve Hogan (28, drums) and Stephen O'Brien (27, keyboards) and all hail from Kiliney, south of Dublin. Dave and Stephen struck up a rare songwriting bond, composing for two years every night, though both of them had day jobs, obsessing over each and every aspect of Hal's sound. The pair enlisted Paul after a year of writing together. The core of the group in place, they secured a residency at the Sugar Club in Dublin, securing a gig a month until - six months into their schedule - Rough Trade beat a host of labels to their signatures.

Having recently supported Doves and The Thrills, Hal head out on tour with Brendan Benson throughout April, and a headline tour in May. Dates below:

SUPPORTING BRENDAN BENSON

Mon 18 Apr Norwich, The Waterfront
Tues 19 Apr Northampton, Roadmender
Wed 20 Apr Bristol, Fleece & Firkin
Thur 21 Apr Manchester, Academy III
Sun 24 Apr Glasgow, The Arches
Mon 25 Apr Birmingham, Academy II
Tues 26 Apr Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
Wed 27 Apr London, Electric Ballroom
Thur 28 Apr Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
Fri 29 Apr Leeds, Cockpit

HEADLINE DATES

Mon 16 May Oxford, Zodiac
Tue 17 May Leicester, Charlotte
Wed 18 May Peterborough, Met Lounge
Thurs 19 May Cambridge, APU
Sat 21 May Cardiff, Barfly
Sun 22 May Wolves, Little Civic
Mon 23 May Liverpool, University
Tue 24 May Edinburgh, The Venue
Wed 25 May Newcastle, The Global
Fri 27 May London, ULU

www.halmusic.com