Matt Koenig has always operated just outside the usual lanes. Raised in Pittsburgh and now living in Los Angeles, he’s the self-contained engine behind the Undercover Dream Lovers, a project that splits the difference between bedroom-pop intimacy and widescreen psych/rock ambition. The new self-released Atomic House is a textural exercise in memory, humming with tactile artifacts the elicit emotional goosebumps: VHS clicks, dial tones, bike bells. And while these are ostensibly songs about (not quite) growing up, Koenig isn’t chasing the past so much as reframing it.
“It’s a pretty vulnerable record overall,” says Koenig. “There’s a line about wondering if life is shaped by fate or by the choices we make—and the feeling of tossing and turning over those thoughts.”
Koenig walks us through his ’90s flashback scene by scene.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “One More Evening”
“This rollercoaster experience prepares the listener for an album that has a lot of twists and turns. I love the sonic changes in it and the weirdness. It feels like a throwback one moment and modern the next without feeling out of place. It’s about that sentimental feeling of never wanting summer to be over, never wanting to grow up, never wanting to leave your childhood neighborhood or see your parents get old. It’s that idea of going back to your hometown as an adult and taking one more nostalgic walk around.”
2) “Banging My Head”
“The lyrics tie into experiences of splitting my head open a few times as a kid, which became a symbol in the song. It also connects to not taking the same path a lot of people take—getting into school but dropping out, being the kid who’s always in the middle of drama and can’t seem to get things right.”
3) “Cookin In The Sun”
“The title is a bit of an innuendo for drug use. It’s about wanting to just live a little and have one more summer of indulgence. Lighting up, letting your heart pound and not overthinking everything.”
4) “Role Model”
“This song begs the question of who the role model actually is. Am I the role model, or am I saying I’m not your role model? It flips back and forth and touches on accountability and youth.”
5) “Molly”
“Molly is a character who can get whatever she wants and is a bit of a goody two shoes. But the song also sympathizes with her. The phone dialing at the beginning hints at gossip or late-night calls with friends.”
6) “Prom Queen”
“Maybe the mother was the prom queen who never really chose her own path and just followed expectations, while the son is the one who decides to do things differently. The song is more abstract than literal, but those ideas helped shape the feeling.”
7) “Human Nature”
“It’s about that feeling of being the weird kid who never quite understands how to fit in with everyone else. Sitting alone at lunch in the cafeteria, wondering why you feel so different from everyone around you. It’s a pretty relatable feeling at that age.”
8) “You”
“This is more of a classic love song. It looks back at a past relationship and those younger years when everything felt a little more open and uncertain.”
9) “Lies, Lies, Lies”
“Get a job, go through the motions, do what you’re told. This song pushes against that and reminds you that believing in possibility is the only way any of it works. If you just accept what you’re handed and never question it, you end up living inside a story that was written for you.”
10) “Paint Me A Smile”
“This comes from that frustrated feeling of getting stuck in your own head—being in a room too long, letting things drag on, forgetting to laugh things off. There’s also a bit of a double meaning in it, with the paint imagery and the idea of getting higher in life while also hinting at escapism.”
11) “Escape Artist”
“‘Escape Artist’ is about someone whose instinct is always to slip away before things get too serious. In a way, that becomes the person’s art form. It touches on that tension between wanting connection and being afraid of it at the same time.”
12) “I Don’t Give A Damn”
“A lighter moment on the record—about laughing at how strange life can be. Things move one direction and then suddenly another. The song leans into the idea of just doing what makes you happy and not worrying so much about everything else.”
13) “Déjà Vu”
“It’s that nostalgic summertime feeling, the sense of having been somewhere before, like memories repeating themselves. Those moments when youth feels endless and everything seems possible.”
14) “Can Of Worms”
“The last track is a quiet reflection on everything that came before it. I always liked the visual of being out on a boat years from now, fishing and reflecting on life, looking back at the choices you made and feeling calm about it all.”
