Welcome Center Announce New EP 'Talk Talk Talk'

Welcome Center, the Dallas/Philadelphia electronic-pop duo of Jesse Smith and Aaron Sternick, is pleased to present the official video for "Parasite City" the first single to be lifted from the band's EP Talk Talk Talk out July 16 (pre-order). The video which was directed by Richard Krause, debuted today at MXDWN and can also be shared at YouTube. "Parasite City" is the band's 'glass is half-full' song about everything we experienced in the last year.

The band's Jesse Smith explains, "It's easy to complain, and it's easy to give in to that dark part of your mind that tells you things are never going to get better." He adds, "I've done my fair share of both many times in my life. It's a lot harder to say 'Everything feels pointless today/this month/this year, and I can barely get out of bed - but I am going to keep pushing through and hold onto the hope that one day it will get better than this.' This is the most optimistic Aaron and I have felt in a while. After a year like 2020, the list of reasons to feel defeated is never-ending. Comparatively, Aaron and I got by okay, and we're still catching our breath."

Welcome Center's Jesse Smith & Aaron Sternick have a history of getting lost on America's oldest roads. Long before they were Welcome Center, Jesse & Aaron spent a decade exploring the hostel circuit of America. From one town to the next, the two absorbed whatever they could about the land they call home: How people from different cultures and countries think about America; what secret paths lead to unadulterated beauty along all five coasts; how to comfortably sleep in a car when you breakdown on the side of the highway; etc.

In 2017, the two began sowing the seeds of a taut post-punk/synth-pop sound and watched that garden grow faster than imaginable. It wasn't long before they found themselves back on those old roads- this time in support of their first EP, Disorder, as well as their first defining single, "Is This All There Is?". The American DIY scene was booming and Jesse and Aaron wholeheartedly embraced the opportunity to pay their dues and burn the candle at both ends. While they spent their nights in tightly crowded punk house basements, the duo continued to clock in to their 9-5 tech jobs by day, oftentimes continuing to work after soundcheck.

Nearly four years after that first tour, it's been too long since the band has seen those highways again. Talk Talk Talk is the result of that departure, looking outward to confront hard realities about the land they grew up in and channeling it into something more hopeful than before. Lead single "Parasite City" challenges you to fight the urge to give in to all-consuming anxiety about the place you live. Jesse Smith says, "The song is about every sh*t town you grew up in. It's the dead-end job/relationship you can't escape. It's the sad state of your country because of crooked leadership. It's the thing you want to hide from but can't." "Burn" meditates on feelings of helplessness but finds faith growing out of the ashes. "Losers" finds bittersweet joy in addiction and depravity before longing for youthful naïveté. Talk Talk Talk is a glass-half-full vision of the year that was and the power of pushing forward with friends.

Watch here:

Photo Credit: Andrew Ryan Shepherd