First, some useful background: Crystal Castles covered Platinum Blonde’s 1983 song, “Not In Love,” for their (second) self-titled album, released last April. Then the Toronto duo crossed paths with Fiction Records labelmate Robert Smith of The Cure, who lent his voice to a remix, putting the cover over the top. An inspired matchup for sure, as Smith’s kohl-rimmed eyes bore personal witness to New Wave’s rise.

Crystal Castles shared their Smith-centric version of “Not In Love” in October, with a free MP3 here and there, but the single officially hit download services only in December. A music video directed by Nic Brown hit the blogosphere last month, comprised of what looked like degraded VHS footage. But you can’t pick out Robert Smith in the grainy clip, nor either member of Crystal Castles, none of whom appear. Still, by the end of January, the track opened at #31 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs, marking The Cure frontman’s solo debut on the chart.

Fast-forward to February, when a much better — and thank heavens, loads clearer — video featuring “Not In Love” is now out on the Interweb. Like Crystal Castles’ official video, no musicians are present and there’s no real narrative. Instead, this alternative clip captures some revealing footage of a recent men’s swimwear photoshoot, thanks to the enterprising fellas at Instinct Magazine. The following four minutes of behind-the-scenes action features such a surplus of nearly-naked, Speedo-clad eye candy that you might just need a moment to adjust to the overload. It’ll certainly make you hear these “Not In Love” lyrics in a different light: “It’s cold outside, when you coming home / ’cause it’s hot inside, isn’t that enough.” Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!

Kudos to editor Nicolas Jenkins for choosing the track, and putting it all together for our viewing pleasure.

Purchase Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith – “Not In Love” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.