Hailing from Vancouver, Be Afraid first emerged back in 2016, although the current iteration of the line-up only came together last year. Inspired by the new line-up to explore the extremes of their sound, Be Afraid sought to balance their taste for, “flowery jangle pop on one hand and obnoxious classic rock on the other”. The result is the band’s new EP, Remember Fun, out this Friday in Hidden Bay Records, and premiering two days early right here.

Across its six tracks, Remember Fun is an explosive exploration of the versatile worlds of jangle-pop and classic rock.  The record opens with the excellent Birdbrain, a strutting slice of dreamy-pop that hits a perfect middle ground of Pavement and Amber Arcades. From there they explore a variety of sounds from the easy lo-fi bop of You Lose Continue to the early 90’s nodding, My Boy, which has more than a touch of Lemonheads to it.

The EP concludes on arguably its most bombastic moment, Automatic Worry, which buzzes into a guitar solo before sliding into a clattering slice of indie-punk that is equally in line with early-Pixies as it is with more contemporary acts like Radiator Hospital or Joyce Manor.

Remember Fun is an album that in many ways lives up to its title, it’s tinged with both a freewheeling sense of youth and a tinge of nostalgia, at once an attempt to remember the joys of free expression with the knowledge that’s not always easy in the real world. For fifteen minutes though, you can tune into a record, switch off the world and remember fun, after all, what’s life without it?

Remember Fun is out May 8th via Hidden Bay Records. Click HERE for more information on Be Afraid.