Minimal kicks

“I hear that a lot,’’ singer Jonny Pierce says recently in the middle of a relentless tour that brings the Drums to the Paradise Rock Club tomorrow night. “People say, ‘Your music on first listen sounds happy and makes me happy.’ ’’

He takes that as a compliment, but the truth is, a deep melancholy lurks in the Drums’ strident but intentionally minimalist indie-rock. On “Saddest Summer,’’ from last year’s “Summertime!’’ EP, the breakneck tempo and sunny melody belie the sad-eyed sentiments about loving the one you’re with — because it could all go away in a flash. The song dissolves into this year’s loneliest coda: the sound of fireworks popping in the distance as a saxophone wails a few back-alley notes.

Much like London’s the xx, another band for whom less is more, the Drums are notable for what they’re missing: clutter. Except where the xx is a slow and dry burn, the Drums are immediate, even effusive in their directness.

“It’s hard to judge why people like something, but I think people are excited about what we’re doing because of the simplicity,’’ Pierce says. “Whether they recognize that or not, I think everyone is ready for something more tangible. We’re living in an era of conveyor-belt pop songs, and I think people are interested in something that sounds a little bit more human.’’

Their approach has gradually caught fire, putting the Drums in the upper echelon of indie bands primed for a breakthrough.

“When we started the band, we had no idea that anyone would care about what we’re doing,’’ Pierce says. “We thought we’d maybe play a few gigs, get jobs, and that would be that. Things have gone in the opposite direction. I don’t think any of us were ready for it all.’’

That partly explains why the Drums recently lost one of its guitarists, Adam Kessler, whose sudden departure blindsided his bandmates. The wound is still fresh, at least for Pierce.

“[Adam] just wanted a simpler life. Again, we never expected to be where we are right now, and it was a little too much,’’ he says. “I’d like to say I wish him the best, but I don’t really. Time heals all wounds, I hope.’’

Now a trio, the band has been unexpectedly inspired by its new lineup, exchanging ideas and writing songs for a new album.

“We’ve always said our approach to what we do is so minimal, and if you change one small thing, it alters the whole picture,’’ Pierce says. “I thought [Adam] leaving would lead to a lot of confusion and frustration. But it had the opposite effect. It was sort of a blessing in disguise.’’

The same could be said for how the Drums originated. Pierce had been in various bands since he was 12, but in his early 20s he felt adrift, working odd jobs around New York and trying to pay the rent. He says he hit rock bottom — “I ended up going to jail,’’ he says, somewhat sheepishly without elaborating. “Just for a night.’’

The next day he called Jacob Graham, one of his closest childhood friends, who urged Pierce to join him down in Florida to start the band they had always talked about having. Pierce moved that weekend; six months later, they had an EP and half of their new album.

“Jacob and I met over a love of pop music,’’ Pierce says. “We always loved the same songs. We sort of built the blueprint for the Drums without knowing it. I like to say that the Drums started the day we met when we were just boys. We just waited a decade to write our first song.’’

They had an inkling of the band’s sound early on, drawing on a mutual interest in analog circuitry and bands such as OMD and Kraftwerk. But they also wanted to stretch, forcing themselves to make the band driven by its guitars. Never mind the fact that neither of them played the instrument.

“Because we weren’t skilled [on guitar], and we were used to playing one note at a time, that’s how we made the album with the guitars,’’ Pierce says. “There’s no chords on the album or the EP. We fashioned it as if we were playing synthesizers, but we were playing guitar.’’

If the guitars sound like they’re plucked from the ’80s, much of the Drums’ aesthetic dates back even further to ’60s pop, specifically surf-rock and girl groups. “Down by the Water,’’ a ballad you could imagine hearing at the Brill Building, is the Drums’ salute to the Shangri-Las, whose “Out in the Streets’’ was one of the songs that inspired Pierce and Graham to form their band.

“I feel lucky enough to be in a band with two other confused and miserable people,’’ Pierce says, laughing. “I think that’s why I write sad songs. You hear a sad song about somebody being lonely, and suddenly you don’t feel as lonely because there’s somebody else who feels the same way.’’

James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com.