Kevin Bronson on November 21st, 2019

0

The sensuous groove and silky synths in the Undercover Dream Lovers’ new single “Plane Ride” — both hallmarks of singer-songwriter Matt Koenig’s work — belie the song’s true intentions. Sure, it sounds sexy, but make no mistake, Koenig is staring down mortality.

“The ‘ride’ is a metaphor for life, and the plane crashing represents death,” Koenig says of the song, the third single from the Undercover Dream Lovers’ forthcoming album “It’s All in Your Head,” due Feb. 28. “I wrote the verse before going on tour, and it was about me feeling caught in the distractions of life, but wishing i could just admit I might not have wanted those things in the first place.

“The inspiration for the rest of the song came after tour. We were on the road with [the Liverpool pop duo] Her’s, who were in a fatal car accident before our last show. ‘Plane Ride’ was the first song I worked on after returning, and my mind was still consumed by the loss. It felt personal for me to keep the first verse … It represented something before the accident, and really paints a picture about how what you may think is important can change in an instant.”

The album, the follow-up to the EPs “In Real Time” (2018) and “While It’s in Style” (2016), finds the Pittsburgh-bred artist again recording and mixing his psychedelic pop-soul in his home studio in L.A. Dent May guests on the record.

The animated video for the tune is the work of Cynthia Larenas, who works under the name Zona Mind. Its moving iconography is a wild ride all its own.

||| Watch: The video for “Plane Ride”

||| Also: Stream “A Way Out”

||| Live: The Undercover Dream Lovers perform at Poolside’s New Year Eve Show on Dec. 31 at the Fonda Theatre, along with Katsù Oso. Tickets.

||| Previously: “All You Need”