Revved Up, Thirsty, And Ready To Drown

Zach Bryan “Fear and Friday’s”

There’s never been a shortage of guys trying to be Bruce Springsteen at any point in my time on this planet. Zach Bryan is one of the only singer-songwriters I’ve ever heard who’s stepped into the Boss’ zone and possesses the charisma, energy, and songwriting craft to not just pull it off but find their own voice in this lane. “Fear and Friday’s” is one of Bryan’s most overtly Springsteen-esque songs but I feel like the Bruce-ness of it is mostly in the melody and delivery of the chorus.

That’s the part of the song that really gets to me. Bryan is singing about a relationship with a very fickle woman who’s clearly nowhere near as invested in him as he is in her. “I got a fear, dear, that it’s gonna end,” he sings, displaying an earnest vulnerability that’s not whiney or needy or acting like he’s owed something. When the chorus ends on “you only love me like you mean it when it’s after dark,” it’s not some petulant Drake burn. He sounds like a guy who’s quite happy for that after dark hook-up, but disappointed that it probably can’t be more because he wants to give more.

Bryan’s new album opens with another song called “Fear and Friday’s (Poem)” that doesn’t have a lot to do with this song besides providing a bit of context for the shared title: “I think fear and Fridays got an awful lot in common, they’re overdone and glorified and they always leave you wanting.” In other words, like another great songwriter once sang: “Don’t expect, don’t expect, don’t expect, don’t expect.”

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