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Feb 10, 2021 Rob Kovacs By Caleb Campbell Photography by J. Bartholomew

Rob Kovacs has proved himself to be a multi-variant talent over the years, going in many different directions in his career from rock, to jazz, to classical, to musical theater. In the 2000s Kovacs first gained attention for his time in indie rock bands Return of Simple and Math + Logic. The doors of classical composition also opened further for him after he was the first pianist in history to perform both parts of Steve Reich’s Piano Phase live, playing two pianos simultaneously. Most recently, Kovacs has worked as a film score composer, video game sound designer, and has taken to Youtube as well, creating piano arrangements of video game soundtracks under his 88bit moniker.

Yet, Kovacs always was drawn back to the songs that make up his solo debut album, Let Go. The record has been in the works for a long while, following a relationship from its beginning to end, tracing its highs and lows amidst Kovacs’ virtuosic piano accompaniments. Though Kovacs wrote it over a decade, he finally committed to finishing the album in 2016. Now as he approaches the finish line, Kovacs has returned with one more single from the album, “Reach You,” premiering with Under the Radar.

Like many of Kovacs songs, the central facet and only constant element of “Reach You” is his expressive piano compositions. But, though nimble and dexterous, Kovacs never overpowers the other delicately arranged elements. Over its sprawling six-minute runtime, the track rises and falls, sometimes with more traditional rock instrumentation joining in to fill out the grand heights of the song, other times with only Kovacs’ piano to accompany his searching vocals. The lyrics mirror the same tension, following the inexorable push and pull of a rocky relationship — “I am yours to wrap around / Pull me in or let me out.” The song ends on a meditative note with Kovacs once again alone, wondering, “Will I ever really reach you? / I’m a king of wishful thinking.” The song itself is a journey, a microcosm of how Kovacs’ arrangements can turn even the intimate moments of a relationship into sweeping drama.

Kovacs says of the song, “‘Reach You’ was written very unconventionally. I started writing it in 2007 and then didn’t really touch it again until 2016 when I had decided to release an album of all these songs I had that were all based on the same romantic relationship. To finish the lyrics, I dove back into my old journal, (and also drew upon feelings from a recent breakup.)

At this point in the relationship, I wanted out. I wanted it to be over. It was tumultuous, and I felt I had no control, no power. I was weak. I had never wanted to be with someone so much in my life. It was crazy. I’d try to leave. But with just one call, one message, I’d be back, always holding on to a bit of hope that this time it might last.

But this is all it is. An endless cycle of starts and stops. Getting closer, but never connecting. An approach to zero. The asymptote. Each time, cutting the distance in half. But never touching.” Check out the song and video below. Pre-save Let Go here, ahead of the February 12 release date.