Aqualung

'LUNG STRANGE TRIP: Matt Hales' advice: "Just give up and it might work out."

by Nicole Pensiero

rock/pop

Forget the flute-and-tights image his nom de disque brings to mind: Aqualung was chosen primarily for atmosphere — "I liked the watery, enigmatic quality of it," singer-songwriter-pianist Matt Hales says — not to mention the fact it allows him to court fans without them "automatically thinking they've landed firmly in singer-songwriter land."

"I figured it would allow me to do whatever I wanted," the affable 33-year-old Brit said by phone. "Whether it's just me and my [guitarist] brother playing, or a full band — we can continually rearrange and play with the music to keep it fresh and interesting. The Aqualung name basically gives me freedom."

London-based Hales, who was turned onto everything from Stevie Wonder to classical via tunes spun at his parents' record store, hit the keyboard as a toddler and, at 17, saw the first symphony he composed performed by a 60-piece orchestra. Yet he'd nearly given up on his career by the time he recorded the songs that make up the recently released Strange and Beautiful, a record that's basically a compilation of tracks from his first two U.K.-only albums.

"When I finally gave up is when it all started to work," he recalls. "So that's my message to those striving for their dreams: Just give up and it might work out."

Strange and Beautiful — actually two albums, one more lo-fi than the other — is filled with shimmering Radiohead-meets-Bacharach pop songs complete with soaring choruses, often-aching lyrics and a jolting sense of emotional honesty. The album's first single, "Brighter Than Sunshine," is drawing attention this side of the pond via the Ashton Kutcher flick A Lot Like Love.

Onstage, the record's lushness translates nicely with the help of Hales' inspired desire to "go to those darker places" with the audience if they're open to it. "People don't come to worship at the altar of my greatness," he jokes. "They come to make a connection with the music. And we can go somewhere quite deep if we want to."

Sun., May 8, $17-$44, 7:30 p.m., with Cary Brothers, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400.