With beats at the forefront, Whomadewho's sophomore album for Kompakt feels very much like a DJ solo project, or a Fabriclive mix, even though it was constructed by the Scandinavian disco-punk trio of bassist Tomas Høffding, guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg, and drummer Tomas Barfod.

Høffding and Kjellberg share vocal duties, with one taking the Bryan Ferry approach with a forced caterwaul, and the other singing in a reserved style.

Brighter is subdued compared to the band’s self-titled full-length from 2005.

Even the energetic, uptempo songs seem intended for home listening rather than for a club.

This allows the group’s pop element to shine through a little more, and there's hardly any trace of the brittle angularity that typically makes up disco-punk.

Instead, Whomadewho's instrumentation is tapered into synthesized dance music, giving Brighter a feel that's indicative of the album title; a shiny, white blend of nu-disco, house, and Euro-pop, that is indeed brighter than earlier efforts.

The vocal melodies that drive every track keep the album from falling into the trappings of being an obvious Kompakt product.

Songs are built with obvious hooks and structure, and are lyrically intimate, keeping them in line with the slick electro flavor and emo sentiments of Miike Snow and VHS or Beta.

That said, what made 2011's Knee Deep so spellbinding was the melodrama, and with its warmer, shinier songs, Brighter feels lighter, and almost too sterile, in comparison.