yeah, this one is very very good. The riff and the bridge are classic PJ really.

Looooving the Stern performance, so fucking tight they just jumped into it.

Ed sounds great!

Seems like a good place to drop the FLAC of this on Howard Stern:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bb3hzhwb ... zhkp7&dl=0

I've said this elsewhere (and probably here) but I constantly impressed with the feeling of ease that surrounds this song, despite its drama

Staying strong at 5 stars

this song is infectious

4 well deserved stars.

Love The Gaslight Anthem style chorus.

Yeah it’s fantastic. On most of my listens it takes me 10-15 minutes to get to track 2 because I keep replaying this. A+

Still my album highlight. It actually reminds me of Sad (top 5 PJ for me) with the upbeat melancholy feel, Ed's harmonies in the chorus, and the wailing Mike solos that sound like someone bawling their eyes out :chef's kiss:

Things that are great about scared of fear, no repeats

-the swingy way the song begins that does not really foreshadow where it goes

-the drum, lead in, and how full jeff's bass sounds

-the way Ed sings 'do I have to be scared'

-that accelerated riff during the chorus that interjects this sudden note of encroaching dread

-Ed's melody throughout the chorus

-the willfully ignorant way the music snaps back into this upbeat posturing right after the chorus,

-Matt's fill into the second chorus

-how good the transition from 'we were our own scene' back into the 'you're hurting yourself'

-the juxtaposition between the technical awkwardness of the phrasing and how incredible the melody and delivery is in 'your secret is well and safe with me' and the rising intonation on 'me'

-the moment Mike's solo accelerates at around 2:22

-the mournful notes and transition at 2:44

-the sense of inevitability and foreboding during the bridge

-Everything Matt is doing in those moments to get ready to launch Mike

-when Mike starts to blow up around 3:15 and the way it lends strength to Ed's resolve

-"as if you never left"

-how much more emotional that final chorus run is after all the table setting in the bridge

-'we used to belieeeeevvvveeeee'

-The rolling fills Matt is playing during that point

-The way Stone's riff wraps itself back around the song, corralling it to a stop


Great song.

Literally every song on this album is just as infectious as the one prior.

Hard to get through this album because of it. Or jumping all around to hear that ear candy worming through your brain.

Remarkable.

And yes, this is one of the best of them. That chorus is fantastic.

Though, i do think this song shares a lot of similarities to WES.

Me at 9:15pm: "This song is great, four-plus stars, but I'm holding out on five."
Me at 9:20 after listening and reading along with stip's notations: "Five stars."

Without question. It's a better front to back listen. It's just that extended bridge in WES is so good. But is it good enough?

I'm going to listen to Dark Matter and Gigaton on my morning walk tomorrow

This song blows WES out of the water and i LOVE WES.

yeah, you're right on both counts. And Who Ever Said is a five star song. They went back to the well, and that well was full and deep

Its because of the collab.

WES is clearly all ed with the rest of the band playing along.

Scared of fear is WES but elevated by them looking at eachother developing parts and building off the energy in the room.

Such a massive difference.

Hearing Stone just riff it up again makes my heart so happy

Listened to WES today, it's a pretty solid song, but yeah, Scared of Fear blows it away.

The extended bridge of WES is absolutely awesome, as is the intro and outro, but WES just has little things that hold it back for me. The "sideways thoughts" part always clashed imo and the chorus itself is just kinda quirky, but not something that captured me ever.

Scared of Fear on the other hand, has amazing lyrics, fantastic solos, excellent bridge, an infectious chorus and that awesome outro. It definitely has a similar vibe to WES, but they just took it to another level.

Started as a 3 star... now 4... and rising.

I usually don't enjoy directly comparing songs from different albums, since each record is a different snapshot in time, but, I'm swept up in this conversation.

Love WES...It was cool as proof that they were still capable of writing an effective rock song in the quirky, nervy PJ mold, but, comparing it to SoF is almost not fair.
WES has some neat detours, but, ultimately, it sounds like a lot of late-era PJ...Manicured and molded to sound like it slots into the PJ "rocker" category.

SoF sounds like what rock music should sound like. The joy and abandon that comes from five people banging away on instruments and seeing what happens.