Music critics get cranky if, at least once a week or so, they don’t get to trot out some aphorism or another about how everything’s cyclical — just reconfigured for the present. That’s why there have been as-described movements such as “Nu Metal III,” “Bud Light Presents Honky-Tonk,” “Nu Gangsta II,” “Still Shoe Gazin’” and “Too New To Be Classic Rock But Still Trying To Sound Like REO Speedwagon.”

The most interesting artists in any of these resurgent crusades are the ones who mix affectionate homage with a genuine original and contemporary twist — so that they’re updating the style rather than simply languishing in the past.

Boston’s Bearstronaut, whose national popularity is rising like floodwaters, is a tremendous act whose sonic DNA is proudly anchored in the dance-happy sound and energy of ‘80s synthpop bands such as OMD, Depeche Mode, INXS, Duran Duran and Naked Eyes. But the band’s 20-something members — guitarist/vocalist/New London native Dave Martineau, drummer/vocalist Philip Boisvert, bassist/keyboardist Nate Marsden and keyboardist Paul Lamontagne — each possess a much wider litany of influences that only evolved and coalesced after they’d played together a while.

“We all grew up in music-conscious households,” says Martineau by phone from Boston earlier this week. A 2008 graduate of the Williams School, Martineau is jazzed that Bearstronaut is performing a stripped-down acoustic set Saturday afternoon in New London’s Telegraph Record Shop as part of the store’s Record Store Day celebration. Hopefully, his folks, Jean and Paul Martineau, will be in attendance, particularly since they were instrumental in their son’s musical career. 

He says, “Our parents all showed us different stuff and wanted us to enjoy the classics like the Beatles and the Stones but were also interested in showing us what had gone on, musically and across the board, over the years. All of us went through those experiences, and that led to us separately seek out different bands online or live or however we could.”

As such, the four musicians, who met as students at UMASS Lowell, brought respective sets of sonic ideas to the Bearstronaut drawing board. Martineau, for example, started out loving metal whereas, for example, Lamontagne loved Roxy Music. Once Martineau started listening to his friends’ music collection — and vice versa — other things crept into play. Martineau’s father’s longtime affection for David Bowie and “Young Americans” suddenly began to make much more sense to his son. As Bearstronaut began to refine their material, Talking Heads, Human League, Chic and shoe-gaze and classic rock elements were added to the cauldron — along with ultra-contemporary touches that identify the players as fans of modern pop and electronica.

“I definitely think we have a contemporary sound to go along with the obvious touchstones,” Martineau says. “We’ve been dealing with the ‘they’re trying to sound like the ‘80s’ thing since we started, but we’re not worried about it because that’s the stuff we love. It took a long time to create our sound specifically so we’re not a tribute band. It took a lot of experimentation.”

The result is distinctly infectious and extremely promising. Since they formed seven years ago, Bearstronaut has slowly built a Boston-wide and then regional following. They won the 2008 Boston Music Awards’ “College Band of the Year” and have consistently placed in such polls since, including 2013 and 2014 nominations in the BMA “Electronic Artist of the Year” category and a slew of “Song of the Year” and “Album of the Year” nominations.

In 2010, the band wrote the song “Moniker” — a tune so great Haircut 100 would have tried animal sacrifice to have written it. Michael Marotta, head of Boston’s hip indie record label Vamya, was so impressed he signed the group, as he told local media, “just for the privilege of hearing the song on vinyl.”

They’ve since distributed two EPs, “Satisfied Violence” (2011) and “Paradice” (2012), adding a batch of new and equally hook-festooned dance-floor anthems such as “Passenger Side,” “Black Bells,” and “Painted in the Dark” to the repertoire. Later this year, Bearstronaut will release their first proper album, “The Telecoast.” The record’s in the final mixing stages, and a variety of videos and attendant promotional strategies are being coordinated.

Of “The Telecoast,” Martineau says, “We’ve taken our time to get it right. It’s our first full-length and this is where we want to be as a band. It’s time to make sure people hear this record. We’re working on the exact release date but there are a lot of scheduling aspects to work out.”

A huge development in that context is that, in January, Bearstronaut beat out 8,000 other contestants and won the Guitar Center/Converse “Get Out of the Garage” band competition in Brooklyn. In addition to $25,000, free studio time and worldwide TuneCore distribution, Beatstronaut will perform on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show later this year.

“We were proud that we won, but, honestly, I think we were pretty taken aback,” Martineau admits. “Obviously, it’s an incredible opportunity, and we’re all proud of the work we’ve done. Still, I don’t think it will feel real ‘til they confirm an exact date for Kimmel. But that’s coming.”  

As for Saturday’s show in New London, Martineau is happy to be back in his hometown, which is something he says “happens all too rarely anymore. I don’t come back nearly as much as I’d like because of our schedule.”

He lists the Dutch Tavern as his invariable first stop anytime he comes home, and adds that, on tour, “I wear my Dutch merch proudly.” He’s also introduced his bandmates — all of whom grew up in Watertown — to the glories of New London.

“We’ll try to make the rounds,” he says, “and hit the Dutch and Hanafin’s and the Oasis and Hot Rod’s. Any time I’m home is good, but to get to play in New London makes it very special.”