Dillo Day 2002: four skinny boys, two of whom weren’t out of high school, played in Patten Gym to a less than eager — and less than sober — crowd. Known as the Pages, the band cranked out a persuasive set of ’60s and ’70s rock covers, sounding more like rough-edged hopefuls from Liverpool than the middle-class adolescents from Deerfield they were.

Enter fall 2003. Having ditched both its cover band gig and its name, the group just might be “The Next Big Thing” — or at least it will be if a major label has its way.

In August, just months after recording their debut on Chicago’s Undertow Records, the Pages signed a contract with Capitol and changed their name to the Redwalls at the label’s request. If this all seems too corporate for words, worry not: the band is so promising that even the Capitol-enforced name change is forgivable.

On the surface the appeal of the Redwalls is obvious. The four youngsters — Logan Baren on vocals and guitar, brother Justin on bass, Andrew Langer on lead guitar and drummer Ben Greeno — are fresh-faced, with floppy hair and a penchant for vintage clothing. But beyond the group’s visual allure, there is a tougher sell. They don’t sound like a modern band.

Years of utter devotion to the Beatles and other classic rock staples have yielded instrumental orchestration and vocal styling so reminiscent of the Fab Four that the Redwalls might be lost on fans more keen on Linkin Park. Indeed, the boys have done their homework, having mastered the 12-bar blues, a-a-b-a song structure and hand clap backtracks.

And as the Strokes prove, young consumers are eager for a fresh sound, even if that sound is actually a rehash of famed artists from decades past. But unlike the Strokes, who sound both retro and modern with a fast-paced take on garage and New York glam, the Redwalls don’t update the sounds of old.

The band is the first to acknowledge its influences. On “Colorful Revolution,” from the debut Universal Blues, which hit stores Nov. 18, Logan pokes fun at the group’s obvious inspiration. “And though the song is the same / It doesn’t matter who plays / It’s alright,” he sings with gritty fervor.

The Redwalls started much like any other band: jamming along to their parents’ LPs in their basements. The hobby quickly escalated, and within a year the boys graduated to writing their own material. “We figured that to make it we actually had to make our own music,” said Langer in a recent phone interview. “We grew out of (playing covers), I guess.”

Slow, deliberate and soulful, the Redwalls’ sound is catchy without straying into pop-rock territory. Lead singer Logan sings with nasal urgency, as Justin and Andrew lend a hand for rich harmonies and a turn at lead roles. It is this puritanism that makes the band’s recruitment to Capitol so shocking and welcome. But can the group escape a major-label makeover and ensuing marketing campaign? “I hope our music will stand out and won’t just get grouped in a genre,” Langer says. “I hope it’ll show that we’re not like all the other groups.”

This is a phrase that emerging bands often like to throw around: that they’re not like other groups. But in this case it’s actually true — and that, perhaps, is the most refreshing thing of all.