Maxim Ludwig has just given you something more to be thankful for this week with his new "Assembly Line" video. Directed by Thaddeus Ruczika, the video was shot in the downtown warehouse where Maxim worked as the foreman and supply chain manager for a premium packaging and box set company when he wrote the song.

Our friends at Monster Children debuted the video on Monday, calling the song "prettier than his dolled up face by the end of this clip." As well, Maxim's now the leading contender for their strongest name of 2015 competition, which we're boldly claiming now will be no contest — he's a shoe in. 

Maxim performs on Friday at The Echoplex for our Something Good party with PAPA and Astronauts, etc. — he's on a 9 p.m., don't miss it. He also shared the following note, giving context to the video's background and execution:

"I wrote 'Assembly Line' there during my lunch breaks," he says. "Thaddeus (the director) and I work very closely together and liked the idea of playing with my image and femininity and seeing where that road took us. I was not prepared for how deeply the transformation was going to affect me and how raw my feelings were going to come through on screen. I wanted to look fucking hot and they couldn't do it. It sent me into a depression as it was happening and you can see how empty and heavy I become. 

"I started thinking about how much I took for granted about women, our differences, how much separates us, how I've judged women based on looks, my own aesthetic flaws, etc. None of this was the intention. But that was the truth of it. Thad edited this to make what was conceptually sexy and playful into something profoundly sad. The marriage between the lyric and sound and visual ended up being eerily and coincidentally on the nose."