A more upbeat Wave

“Permalight,’’ the new offering from the Northern California band, is a collection of spacey, indie-rock anthems, and dance-floor-ready pop songs - a noticeable departure from the introspective sound that made the group’s 2007 release, “Asleep at Heavens Gate,’’ a favorite among fans and critics.

Considering the adversity the group faced in the three years since, its newfound up-tempo swagger is as admirable as it is unlikely. The band plays the Paradise on Monday night.

In 2007 drummer Pat Spurgeon, who was born with only one kidney, underwent months of dialysis treatment followed by a kidney transplant after his 13-year-old replacement kidney began to fail. The stress of searching for a suitable donor and the inconvenience of having to self-administer daily dialysis treatments on the road was hard, Spurgeon said, but he credits the band with being the perfect coping mechanism. “Touring with Rogue Wave kept me sane while I was going through the whole thing,’’ he said.

Less than a year later the band’s former bassist and close friend, Evan Farrell, died in an Oakland apartment fire. Then in September 2008, just weeks after returning from tour, singer/guitarist Zach “Rogue’’ Schwartz woke up in excruciating pain. He had slipped two disks in his neck, which resettled against his spinal cord, causing extreme pain and temporary paralysis.

“I felt like I was being stabbed with an ax,’’ Schwartz said from his Oakland home, recalling the intensity of the injury that has yet to fully heal. He still has no feeling in his right index finger.

Schwartz spent the rest of the year in recovery, coping with near constant pain and trying to regain use of his right arm and hand, both of which went numb at the onset of the injury. Early diagnoses were grim; doctors were doubtful he’d recover enough to play the guitar again - an unimaginable situation for the then 34-year-old musician.

“Telling someone whose whole way of dealing with life is through a guitar that he can’t play music is a terrible blow,’’ Schwartz said. “It’s like telling a schizophrenic he can’t see his therapist anymore.’’

But over time the pain subsided and feeling gradually returned to Schwartz’s arm and most of his hand. With his body finally on the mend, Schwartz picked up an old Sears Silvertone guitar, the lightest in his collection, and attempted to teach himself how to play with an extremely sensitive neck and a total loss of feeling in one of his pick-holding fingers. The injuries forced Schwartz to alter his playing style, and his new techniques contributed heavily to the dance-inspired feel of “Permalight.’’

“When I first picked up a guitar after the accident I started just strumming, very basic rhythmic stuff, because I didn’t know what my limitations were yet,’’ he said. “But as it turned out, that strumming style - which was more focused on rhythm and tempo - led to a lot of the songs on the album.’’

Despite all the setbacks, Schwartz said his band’s struggles inspired him not to dwell on tragedy but celebrate life. As he continued to heal and write new material he wanted to channel his emotions in a different style than he had on previous recordings.

“After everything we went through, and having spent so much time feeling trapped in my own body, I wanted to write music that was freeing and upbeat. I didn’t want to be dour anymore,’’ he said. “I told Pat I wanted to make a dance record.’’

While “Permalight’’ has a more noticeable bounce than the band’s earlier material, it’s a far cry from top 40 dance hits or bass-heavy club music. A majority of the album is straightforward indie pop that combines the brooding, atmospheric guitar of Rogue Wave’s past with danceable beats, faster tempos, and less-than-subtle hooks.

“I wanted to take everything we had been through and turn it into something life affirming,’’ Schwartz said. “We survived these things and are stronger for it. After that I just wanted to play music that makes us feel better in our lives.’’