Exclusive: NEEDTOBREATHE Share New Single, "Talk of the Town"

NEEDTOBREATHE disguise their social critique with sunshine in their new single "Talk of the Town." The track comes right before their summer tour with OneRepublic.

Exclusive: NEEDTOBREATHE Share New Single, “Talk of the Town”

NEEDTOBREATHE aren’t interested in being people pleasers. On their new single, “Talk of the Town,” the multi-platinum selling band takes on the false images people hide behind and the artificial faultlessness society pressures people to manufacture.

The song is the first new music NEEDTOBREATHE have put out in 2022, and is also the first independent release of the band’s 21-year career. Posing as a balmy summer pop song, “Talk of the Town” disguises its critiques under springy percussion and tongue-in-cheek lyrics like, “Sooner or later, we all know plastic castles all fall down.” Foreshadowing the carefully contrived facades crumbling, the band makes it clear that the rat race for likes that everyone is running is more absurd than we could ever imagine.

NEEDTOBREATHE are releasing an accompanying music video, directed by Dylan Reyes, that further pokes fun at the self-obsessed state of society. Filmed in the streets of Nashville, the video’s characters don masks that serve as a bleak commentary on the carefully calculated perfection people project with the assistance of social media that makes everyone’s lives seem like a highlight reel.

“There is such an increasing pressure and gratification to contort our faces and bodies for a picture to share an altered moment or image with the world,” the band tell Paste. “The song is playfully asking what we’re hoping to gain by doing that, and is it really worth it?”

NEEDTOBREATHE will be joining OneRepublic this summer on the Never Ending Summer Tour. The 40-city stint will kick off on July 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and conclude in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sept. 4. Tickets can be purchased here.

Below, watch the Paste premiere of “Talk of the Town.” While you’re at it, you can also revisit their 2016 Paste Studio session further down, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.

 <p><h2>NEEDTOBREATHE Tour Dates:</h2> </p> <p>July<br />08 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion<br />09 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park<br />10 – Charleston, SC @ Credit One Stadium<br />12 – Simpsonville, SC @ CCNB Amphitheater at Heritage Park<br />13 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena<br />15 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts<br />16 – Washington, DC @ Jiffy Lube Live<br />17 – Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center<br />19 – Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center<br />20 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater<br />22 – Uncasville, CT @Mohegan Sun Arena<br />23 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion<br />24 – Camden, NJ @ Waterfront Music Pavilion (formerly BB&amp;T Pavilion)<br />27 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage<br />28 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center<br />30 – Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Music Center<br />31 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center</p>  <p>August<br />02 – Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre<br />03 – Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre<br />05 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre<br />06 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre<br />07 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center<br />09 – Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP<br />10 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center<br />12 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena<br />13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre<br />16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum<br />17 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre<br />19 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center<br />20 – San Diego, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre<br />21 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion<br />23 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater<br />25 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater<br />26 – Dallas, TX @ The Dos Equis Pavilion<br />28 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion<br />30 – Atlanta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre<br />31 – Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amp</p> <p>September<br />2 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre<br />3 – West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre<br />4 – Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place