Justin Webb & The Noise may be feeding off the same influences—the Clash, Oasis, the Strokes—that shaped their previous Nashville outfit, We Were The States, but somehow, it all sounds more personable and authentic on Stupid Young (Chicken Ranch). It’s as if Webb and fellow WWTS holdovers Ben Moore and Will Pettus took a sober step back, reassessed, then decided it was time to assimilate rather than emulate.
Taking some time off can also lend perspective. Webb was doing just that when Mike Dickinson—owner of Chicken Ranch Records (We Were The States’ label)—convinced him to show up in Austin for an acoustic performance at South By Southwest in 2023. Dickinson liked the new songs Webb was working on, and that set things in motion. Stupid Young was recorded in two eight-hour sessions at East Nashville’s 3Sirens studio with Ben Folds/Hayes Carll bassist Jared Reynolds producing. “A Rose To Chew On,” the first single, is marked by a bruising crescendo reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo’s heavier moments.
Filmed in black and white, the video documents the quintet performing “A Rose To Chew On” for friends and family members at a brewery in Dickson, Tenn. It was Webb’s idea to cut from the recorded version of the song to subpar camera audio of the group careening to a real live finish at the end—and it works.
“I think my favorite part is watching Ben when the song first starts to really kick in,” says Webb. “I can see him looking at his daughters as he’s watching them get into the music. We’re a family. We love rock ’n’ roll, and we love playing it. Invite us out to your town, and let’s have some fun.”
We’re proud to premiere Justin Webb & The Noise’s “A Rose To Chew On” video.
—Hobart Rowland
