Dirty Projectors translate ecstasy and heartbreak into vivid surrealism with their new “Up in Hudson” video. Encyclopedia Pictura directed the experimental clip, which unfolds in four distinct sections symbolizing a relationship’s rise, fall and subsequent redemption.

The first vignette documents the blooming, inexplicable romance between a security guard and random mall shopper in a nondescript parking lot; the charmed duo, both of whom have massive noses and ears, wander down to a creek and dance. In the second, two figure skaters perform against a massive backdrop of blue skies, only to crash.

The third stars a pair of grizzled men reclining outside their mobile homes; one climbs inside his vehicle and drives to a hillside before climbing inside a cave. The fourth section ends the video on an optimistic note, as a traffic cop (Dirty Projectors mastermind Dave Longstreth) performs the Kiani Del Valle-choreographed dance moves in the busy street. 

“Through four very different couples, the arc of a relationship is portrayed in its stages of growth, death, and rebirth,” Encyclopedia Pictura said of the clip in a statement. “To unite our characters as we weave through their stories, we tried to present their vulnerabilities in a surreal way, right on the surface, in their faces.”

“Up in Hudson” is an electro-art-pop love song from Dirty Projectors’ self-titled seventh LP, which came out in February. Rolling Stone ranked the track Number 35 on our list of the year’s 50 Best Songs.