Nashville’s Justin Webb & The Noise return with “Vicariously,” a tense, cathartic new single that captures the frustration of being stuck in place while life feels like it should be moving forward. Known for their emotionally charged, no-frills approach to rock and roll, the band leans into that tension here, turning inertia into momentum and frustration into fuel. Following the momentum of recent releases “1997” and “Terrestrial Radio,” the band continues to sharpen their identity as torchbearers of raw, emotionally honest rock music.
This band enjoys toying with expectations, plotting each release with such intensity that it can’t help but come through in the music. Every song that comes out under the Webb & Noise banner must be nothing less than an unfiltered snapshot of the band’s current state of mind, and “Vicariously” finds them in a place of unapologetic anger. This new single captures the band’s aggression, but not in the ways you think. There is, of course, the release of mentally slam-dancing to the crashing, thudding drums and blistering guitar tones that collide with the cartoonish vocals. Still, it’s the lyrics of “Vicariously” that depict a truer sentiment. The songwriting on Webb & Noise’s latest collects years of exasperated trying, the let-downs that come with putting passion behind every move. It unleashes it across three minutes of pure, left-field, emotionally dense rock music. Webb & The Noise continue to prove themselves among the most exciting young voices in the Nashville scene, with an undeniable single that gets better with each listen.
“I think everyone can relate to this feeling: you want something to happen, you know it should or could, yet whatever it is for you in that moment or in your life just doesn’t. The cards don’t fall right. So, you try to be true to yourself, and you pick the cards back up, and you play again. More and more of your heart each time, and each time it hurts a little worse,” explains the band. “Then there are those folks who believe in you or the situation or whatever ‘it’ is – and the cards fell right for them – so, they are supportive of you and say promising things about “this time” or ‘next time.’ And sometimes, as much as that feels great, the frustration of it all can snap. So, you just want to scream.”
