“Once you’ve tried you can’t go higher,” Liam Benzvi and SSION sing on their new single about the ups and downs of falling into, and revisiting, love.
They refer to this state as “PTLSD,” a combination of PTSD and LSD that explores the psychedelic highs and traumatic memories associated with relationships. “Sinking into the same old ways/ That we did a few years ago,” they sing, remembering how they “were lost in fog machines and dancing to techno.” Ultimately, though, “it doesn’t matter after all.”
This is the third release off Benzvi’s forthcoming album, ...And His Splash Band, out September 27 off Fat Possum, following last month’s Blood Orange-assisted single “Other Guys” and “Dust.” The entire project promises to explore the “push and pull” of Benzvi’s romantic encounters, bringing in other friends and collaborators like Ren G (of Club Eat fame) and Porches to highlight these personal experiences.
“PTLSD” has been in the works for around six years between Benzvi and SSION (real name Cody Critcheloe), originally completed back in 2021. “We demoed it first in my apartment in New York, then again in his apartment in LA,” Benzvi says. “Two years went by, and I wanted it for my record. It’s a special concoction of tenderness, sadness and humor.”
Critcheloe explains that they wrote the track in a few short hours. “It was intuitive, impulsive and sweet,” he says. “It was originally supposed to be a SSION song from a forthcoming album, but I got sidetracked by the allure of video directing and decided (like always) I wasn’t interested in pursuing the business of music.”
In true SSION directorial fashion, the “PTLSD” video is quietly outrageous and dramatizes the everyday through a queer, tongue-in-cheek lens. It rolls out like a moving comic strip, between Benzvi and Critcheloe in a suburban neighborhood. They chop wood, examining the “hard and heavy” qualities of an axe, then become your average-looking couple in matching button-downs and khaki slacks. A neighbor sprays them with his hose (hate crime or sexy photoshoot?) before another man enters the storyline, throwing everything out of whack.
“Cody is someone I would work with again because he is wildly creative, unpretentious and endlessly generous. The best kind of collaborator,” Benzvi gushes. “We wanted the song to be really good and I think that shows. And the visual aspect of it, which came together very quickly and not long ago, made it even more meaningful.”
When Critcheloe revisited “PTLSD,” he was surprised he still loved it after all these years. “Cut to today: I’m happy we got to build a world around it and that it’s finally free,” he says. “Liam is wise and kind and he has a big, beautiful voice. He’s a great songwriter and I’m glad we got a chance to fuck (no homo).”
Liam Benzvi will be celebrating his ...And His Splash Band album release at Brooklyn’s TV Eye on October 2. For tickets, click here.
Photos courtesy of SSION
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