One of the most buzzed-about bands at South by Southwest this summer was a group of bookworms from England. Fanfarlo, the London five-piece, has a penchant for rewriting history and setting it to a soundtrack of lush, orchestral pop.

On their debut album, "Reservoir," Fanfarlo references reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, exorcist Pellegrino Ernetti, and flying-saucer writer Harold T. Wilkins, each with equal affection.

"There's no shortage of source material with history," says drummer Amos Memon. "It's there for the taking, recorded in some form -- a book, a building, or a photo. It's all around you and you can as go back as far as you want. Of course, we put a spin on characters or stories that have inspired us."

The diversity of storytelling on "Reservoir" is rivaled only by the band's instrumentation. Driven by a core of guitar, bass, strings, keys, and drums, Fanfarlo doesn't mind throwing saw, clarinet, ukulele, or melodica into mix. The result is a record that will be lovingly embraced by Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens fans.

"Arranging the brass and strings can be a time consuming process," Memon admits. "Thankfully it's also rewarding. As we use so many instruments, we can play around with sounds to see what works best, which is a lot of fun."

Though all of the band members play multiple instruments, Memon says trumpeter and keyboardist Leon Beckenham is Fanfarlo's secret weapon. "[He's] talented, confident, fluent in Spanish, and the only person who could beat me in pinball."

Memon will have plenty of time to work on his pinball skills during the band's U.S. tour. Though this won't be the band's first trip to the States, many of the dates on their first national tour will be virgin territory.

They've never been to Utah, but Fanfarlo is already hip to Mormon culture. "Justin was friends with two Mormons some years ago and he's a fan of HBO's 'Big Love.' I once read a book on the Osmonds and I've seen Low play a few times."

The Osmonds, Low, and "Big Love," what else is there to know?