The longtime pop and rock band plays Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on July 31 in support of new album "Look Alive."

It's not your imagination. The catchy Guster song that you've been hearing on the radio, "Overexcited," does sound remarkably like the 1982 Madness hit "Our House." And Guster frontman Ryan Miller, who's from Dallas, really is singing in a British accent as he narrates a neighborhood walk:

"Later tonight, some soup, then I'll probably send a text/ 'Hey Dawn, it's Jim. Would you like to have some sex?' And if that's too weird/ Maybe just a hot chocolate"

"We were 100 percent trying to sound like 'Our House,' because it's just a weird pop song, and why can't we write a pop song like that?" Miller said.

Guster plays Wilmington's Greenfield Lake Amphitheater on Wednesday, July 31.

Miller lives in Vermont and has no trace of a British accent. It was just something he wanted to try, and after 28 years of playing in the same band, he gave himself the artistic license to have fun without trying to predict whether or not people would appreciate the homage. Other, less direct influences can be heard on Guster's new album, "Look Alive" (Nettwerk/Ocho Mule), including New Order, Depeche Mode and The Beatles. In typical Guster fashion, "Look Alive" features many songs that seamlessly fuse sunny pop instrumentation with dour lyrics. "Overexcited" sounds lighthearted, but, at its core, it's about being dissatisfied with one's lot.

Miller also cited Morrissey as a huge influence: "'Girlfriend in a coma, I know, I know.' He's singing these depressing lyrics and it's the jauntiest melody you've ever heard in your life. I've just always loved the juxtaposition."

Guster's songs tend to have a timeless quality, as if any one track could have been written at any point during their career. This is a testament to certain enduring sensibilities within alternative and indie rock, but Miller said the consistency of the songwriting can be a double-edged sword.

"By having a sound that isn't super zeitgeisty, you kind of take yourself out of the thing where it's really hip music that Pitchfork and Coachella are going to endorse," he said. "But it also helps in that I'm 46 years old and going on tour."

Miller founded Guster in 1991 with Adam Gardner and Brian Rosenworcel, who met as freshmen at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Throughout their nearly three decades and eight studio albums together, the band's sound has remained recognizable, even as they have evolved as musicians and other members have come and gone. (Joe Pisapia played with Guster from 2003 to 2010; Luke Reynolds joined in 2010.) They began largely as an acoustic group, playing guitars and hand percussion, but grew their sonic approach to include bass, keyboards and a standard drum kit. Their breakthrough album came in 1999, with "Lost and Gone Forever," and Miller said their best-known song is probably "Satellite," from 2006's "Ganging Up on the Sun."

Guster's longevity puts it in a class with other bands that emerged around the same time and are still going strong, such as the alt-country band Old 97's and alt-pop favorite Weezer. Miller has known the lead singer of the Old 97's, Rhett Miller (no relation), for years, and said the comparison is apt in that both bands release albums and tour regularly but never became household names. He contrasted that with Weezer, a band whose songs get far more radio play than Guster's have.

At this point, Miller said, Guster's fan base includes entire families — parents and their kids. "I can empathize with that as a father," he said. "We listen to a lot of music, and I can see what's gonna get wedged into their brains."

In addition to playing with the band, Miller scores music for film and television, including the movies "Safety Not Guaranteed" (2012) and the 2015 documentary "Tig," about comedian Tig Notaro's battle with breast cancer.

"I've had my entire life to contextualize what it means to be a band for coming on three decades," Miller said. "People coming to your show who have been living with your music for so many years is really special, an honor … I know this sounds kind of hippy-dippy, but it feels good to go into a show and be able to perpetuate that kind of energy exchange with our fans."