In any other context, lyrics about drinking, sex and exotic places might call to mind, say, the boasts of Lil Wayne or Jay-Z. But draped over twisting grooves and sung without any sense of gloating, Minus the Bear singer Jake Snider's lyrics become a much more relatable escapism.

With his band's still-untitled fourth album set to drop in spring of 2010, Snider is more thankful than ever that music -- once his form of escapism -- actually helped him escape an office job.

"Sitting at a desk is my nightmare. I like exploration, travel, moving away from what ties you down," Snider tells Spinner. "I sold backup libraries for computer networks for three years before the band. It was soul-crushing."

No wonder, then, that he wrote lines like, "Let's cross the sea/and get some culture/Red wine with every meal/and absinthe after dinner," on Minus the Bear's first album, 2002's Highly Refined Pirates. With expectations high for the band's fourth record, it doesn't look like he'll be seeing a desk any time soon. The upcoming album's first single, 'Into the Mirror,' carries on Minus the Bear's style of sleek, slightly mathematic grooves, but it bounces along brighter than anything the band's ever written.

"It's more optimistic, more about enjoying life," Snider says, "rather than the darker edge that [third album] 'Planet of Ice' had."

The song features Snider's sultry melody, "Now we're just making out with the door unlocked. Back the atrium, the music's slowing down, the party's thinning out. Fixes her lipstick, fixes his belt. She whispers, 'You get what you paid for.'"

A line like that could be on any Minus the Bear album, but the groove is sunny, lively and danceable. Snider says it's a good taste of the album to come, which was produced by Grammy winner Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, the Shins). "When we were recording, most of the live tracks ended up getting used. It's not quite as fussy or precise. There's more of an excitement," he says.

Will the departure from the taut, dark songs of 'Planet of Ice' jolt longtime fans?

"I think they might be surprised at how bright and upbeat the record is," Snider says. "But maybe not. Maybe it's just what they would expect."