Shaun Libman (vocals) / Luke Smith (guitar, vocals) / Claire England (bass, vocals, keyboard) / David Price (keyboard, guitar, vocals) / Conor Sisk (drums)

On first listen to Brite Futures’ fiercely catchy new album, DARK PAST might seem like quite the misnomer. Dubbed “punk rock Abba disco Osmonds with chainsaws” by the Seattle-based quartet itself, the album’s synth-happy mix of New Wave, rock, funk, and dance music packs all the boundless pep of a hyperactive kindergartener on a never-ending sugar high. But tune in closer to these ten tracks and you’ll soon hear the pain behind the pop.

“The title DARK PAST is a half-serious reflection of the tough times we went through over the past few years,” says guitarist Luke Smith, referring to the band’s split with Warner Bros. Records. The epic and rousing “Black Wedding,” for instance, addresses the aftermath of extricating themselves from their contract with that label and reveling in the freedom to make the kind of music they wanted again. And while the opening track “Baby Rain” sounds playfully dirty with its double entendre lyrics, it’s actually a pep talk Luke and vocalist Shaun Libman wrote to themselves about finding confidence in the songwriting process and telling the haters to fuck off.

Still, DARK PAST is first and foremost a party record, a freewheeling funfest that “should be played really loud, with lots of people around,” according to Luke. Brimming with brilliant moments (a lovingly stolen Beatles melody on “Too Young To Kill,” bassist/keyboardist Claire England’s turn as a dancefloor-dominating lead vocalist on “Black Wedding,” lyrics that reference The Kinks and Gossip Girl in the same breath, and the occasional face-melting guitar solo), the album challenges the notion that irresistible pop can only be peddled by solo artists propped up by big-name hitmaking producers. “Why can’t a band do it?” asks Luke, who also produced the album. “Our music is pop for people whose intelligence is not fed by the mainstream, but who still love to dance and have fun. We love to see people dance, it’s such a pure form of expressing joy. But we’re not relying on the same old ideas about ‘the club’ and ‘the DJ.’ We’re trying to fill a void in pop by having a bit more wit and being a bit more cheeky, but also having more lyrical substance.”

Indeed, DARK PAST remains heartfelt even on the sauciest of songs (including “Kissed Her Sister,” an unfortunate tale of a band member accidentally macking on his girlfriend’s twin, and “Cosmic Horn,” a Studio 54-conjuring rave-up complete with instruction on winning the loyalty of a girl who thinks she’s in love with everyone). Elsewhere on the album, Brite Futures tackle matters of the heart with a striking vulnerability (“Tell It To Me,” for example, sweetly captures that awkward period in a relationship before someone says “I love you”). “All the songs are about emotions we’ve experienced,” says Shaun. “And when the lyrics aren’t directly about events that happened in our life, the emotions still come from someplace real and are sincerely felt.”

It’s a nice evolution for a group that started out in such a casual way. The members of Brite Futures met in film class at Seattle’s The Center School, an arts-focused institution located under the Space Needle. Restless one day during their lunch period, Luke and Shaun came up with the idea to launch an a cappella electronic band, “because we couldn’t play instruments,” Luke says. After realizing they sucked at beat-boxing, Luke hauled out an old drum machine and synthesizer he had borrowed from a friend. By the end of the day, they had composed two songs (one about fruit snacks and the other about a party), which they sent around to their friends. “Soon our classmates were singing them in the halls,” Shaun says. “We had 60 friends on MySpace and thought that was really awesome.” Film class pals Claire England and David Price were invited to join the band, which they called Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head (inspired by the actress’s appearance in V for Vendetta).

Though NPSH never expected to perform beyond their high-school talent show, the band saw its popularity grow as they began to play live. What began as a few die-hard fans coming to every show turned into hundreds of kids lining up around the block. The band even took second place at the Experience Music Project’s Sound-Off competition in 2007. In 2008, NPSH released their self-produced, self-distributed album Glistening Pleasure, which was met with enthusiastic reviews (The Village Voice wrote that the group “brazenly concoct a sound that summons up the brittle dance sounds of ’80s synth-pop and the freewheeling spirit of disco”) and soon attracted the attention of the major record labels. NPSH signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records, which agreed to re-release Glistening Pleasure with a few new songs.

However, the band and Warner Bros. Records had different ideas about NPSH’s artistic direction and the two parties mutually agreed to end the relationship. The band’s dance with the majors left them conflicted — a difficult time that serves as a potent reminder about the importance of creative freedom and what it means to be truly independent. After that experience, Luke, Shaun, Claire, and David decided it was time for a new band name. “For as much attention as being called Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head got us, it was also holding us back,” Luke says. “It was nice to shed that name and be our own thing for the first time.” (Brite Futures address the issue in the final episode of their hilarious “Conversation with Natalie” trilogy on their YouTube channel.) Now signed to the indie label Turnout, Brite Futures have emerged stronger and excitedly in control of their artistic endeavors, which also include their clever videos and visually inspired merch. “It’s like we’re a whole new band that got to start all over again,” Claire says.

“We want to prove that we can compete with the big guys. You don’t see many bands doing this on their own,” adds Luke. Noting his pride at Brite Futures’ “underdog status,” he says he’s now happy to have weathered the bad breaks that inspired DARK PAST. “We came out the other side with a new sense of confidence, and it’s amazing to have this album to be an account of that.”