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Music

Where SSION's Love Grows

The video for SSION's "My Love Grows in the Dark" takes place in a dark, snowy, narcissistic sex club, where it's not a good idea to eat the bread.

If I was a jock I would be fist-pumping the air going "YUSSSS!" all husky-voiced right now, because the new SSION video for "My Love Grows in the Dark" just came out. OK fine, I am doing that anyway. Front dreamweaver Cody Critcheloe's official statement on this creation explains it's about walking into a sex club where everyone's such a narcissist the newcomer is ignored. Not sure which bakery is fronting for a sex club, but maybe it's not a good idea to eat the bread? Watch the video to see what that means, and then here's the scoop from Cody on all of it and more.

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VICE: Cody, you always come up with the most implausible, fantastic themes for your videos… like this one. If you were in a sex club, no one would ignore you.
Cody Critcheloe: I had the basic idea for it while we were recording it… and I'm just really sick of green screen stuff. I still use it because it's cheap, but ugh, it looks tired in most cases to me, ya know?

I hear you. Where was this shot?
Kansas City. In Jaimie Warren's house, where Peggy Noland used to live before she moved to LA.

Why go back to KC to shoot?
I go back to KC a lot to stay sane.

I know, there are no more freaks in NYC. That’s one big reason why I left. Well…you're good.
[My boyfriend] Raul is also a genuine freak so that helps a lot.

I love that your real-life romance makes a cameo in the video. It’s super sweet. Tell me more about making this.
We shot it on the first floor, bought all of the props from Walmart and Home Depot and returned EVERYTHING after--even the fish and the opened fish food were returned. So we basically did the video for nothing. People should really take advantage of Walmart’s beautiful return policy.

That's great! Returned fish food. I actually was shocked when you pulled off your wig, by the way—a real cinematic moment.
Thanks. It was like Showgirls or The Witches. And it's like the first time in the video where you actually see my face, and I look busted. I wanted my face to be really blown out the entire video… like an extreme version of pop star lighting, like Gwen Stefani overboard. ‘Cause everyone looks beautiful under that kind of lighting.

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You think you look busted? I think you're glamorous no matter what. Lipstick plus mustache don’t hurt.
Yeah, but you're a freak! We think busted shit looks good!

But it's TRUE. Did you shave your head for real? Or did you return a used bald cap to Walmart too?
Of course. It felt great.

"Of course." Did you do it just for the video?
Yeah, just for the video. But I like the way it looks.

Is your hair back now?
It was shot three weeks ago. So I've got some hair back.

Three weeks? You're FAST.
I hate waiting. We have three other videos we made over the summer that haven't been released yet. I'm so ready to unleash them. They are more old-school SSION style with a green screen. The record is coming out this summer on Dovecote, so they want to release the videos along with singles, which I guess makes sense. But you know, I usually just put stuff out whenever I feel like it. I also get tired of the stuff I make really quickly. Not that I don't think it's good, but when I move on to something else, I REALLY MOVE ON.

I know. I've said this before to you, I think: You're already like two phases ahead of yourself by the time the public catches wind of what you're up to.
Ha, I hope so.

Speaking of which, I heard one of your songs in a normal people vodka bar in West Hollywood the other night.
It's weird, in the last year people have really started to get into Fools Gold. I made that record in 2006.

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Yup, that's what it was.
And people are just sort of getting into it.

It was a totally innocuous place, and I was like WHOA!
That's crazy. I can't listen to it anymore.

Are you already making a new record then?
I recorded a new song while I was in KC shooting these videos. I'm more into just recording songs right now, not thinking about it in an album kind of way. Bent is like a collage more so than any other record I've made. So many people helped out with it and I recorded it in a lot of different places. I was listening to so much top 40, which is really dominated by females, so most of it is like a weird collage/response to that.

What else are you working on now?
Another SSION video and the next MNDR video. I love Amanda. Working with her has been awesome. I really believe in what she's doing.

That's great. Are you making this album a sort of movie/series thing like the last record, with BOY?
I'm gonna make videos for every song, but I don't know if it's gonna become a movie. We'll see. I don't have a huge plan for everything like I did the last one.

Yeah, I mean that last one took you like your whole lifetime…
No, I'm not gonna do that again… it killed those songs to me in a weird way.

Keep this one alive!

SSION performs tonight, Friday, March 2, at Highline Ballroom
Doors at 11:30 PM, show at 11:59
431 W. 16th St., New York

@lizzyarmstrong