Quite the contrary. Lusk's debut release, Free Mars, is anything but. Awash in harmonized vocals, neo-psychedelic guitars and lush string arrangements, Lusk sounds like what would happen if Pink Floyd, the Beatles and the Beach Boys had jammed together in 1969. "We both have our definite prog-rock roots," D'Amour explains. "And a definite love for crafty songwriting via the Beatles and the Kinks and bands like that."

But please, don't lump them in with Oasis. "We didn't know about any 'Britpop' stuff," Pitman says. "That's the only bad thing, because now people say, 'Oh, you must be inspired by Britpop,' and I'm like, 'No way.'"

Pitman attributes their sound to a plum California studio where he and D'Amour hooked up a year ago. "We were just going to do an experimental record," he explains. "But we got this rehearsal space where Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys and all these people used to rehearse. It's kept the same way it was back then, and it's really nostalgic. I think that rubbed off into what we were doing."

Even so, Free Mars is not without its experimental leanings, owing to the duo's long-standing involvement in a side project called Zaum which includes musicians from several Los Angeles bands. They also recorded an album in 1995 under the name the Replicants, covering songs by Paul McCartney and the Cars. After jamming together for a few years, D'Amour decided he wanted to work with Pitman on a more permanent basis. Zaum's roster spilled over into the Lusk sessions. Although D'Amour and Pitman take most of the credit for vocals, guitars, keyboards and arrangements, the album includes guest appearances from Brad Lannery of Medicine, Greg Edwards from Failure, Tool's Danny Carey and at least one ghost.

"We had a woman come in and play harp," D'Amour says. "That's actually Harpo Marx's harp on the record. She inherited it."

So the spirit of Harpo Marx is on Free Mars?

"Oh, absolutely. Probably more than you know," he laughs.

Lusk made an impression on attendees of this year's South by Southwest convention, but their first set of tour dates didn't go so well. "We got thrown in with this bar-band stuff, which we hated," Pitman explains. "They put us up with a band called Orbit; they're kind of a metal grind, and it was bad."

In the future, Lusk plans to include some unusual musicians in their on-stage line-up to dispel any preconceived notions. "If you throw up a giant concert harp and cellos, people will know that the approach is really different," Pitman says.

D'Amour is currently plotting a video for the bouncy first single, "Backworlds." "We're blowing up a child," he says. "Well, it's sort of implied," he continues, refusing to explain further.

The duo is equally vague on the source of their name. "It's the 'linear undulating savvy kangaroos,' " Pitman deadpans.

D'Amour says it comes from a poster in the rehearsal studio depicting two stoic male busts facing one another with the word "Lusk" underneath. "It just stopped you in your tracks. You go, 'what the hell is that?'"

Pitman elaborates. "It's pretty much like the band, you don't know what the hell's going on."

While the group's record might take some getting used to, the duo say they intended it that way. "We just tried to make it really versatile for the listener, not a one-dimensional record where once you hear the first four songs, you might as well just turn it off," says Pitman.

"The one thing I really wanted to accomplish was making a record that people didn't 'get' instantaneously," adds D'Amour. "You gotta put a little into it before you can get something out of it."