Boygenius’ Afraid of Heights: A Monumental Bookend to One of the Best Bands of 2023

Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker of Boygenius have had one of the biggest years a band could ask for. The indie woman supergroup put out their debut LP to astounding commercial and critical success, are selling out shows across America and now bookended 2023 with a companion EP to The Record entitled The Rest. In interviews Bridgers talks about how isolating during COVID allowed for the creative output needed for The Record and now the four song EP The Rest is comprised of tracks that were not quite ready for the LP, but felt right to release now. I cannot get enough Boygenius, so any new music is very welcome.

In some ways you can see how Afraid of Heights didn’t quite fit on The Record, but it still has the excellent storytelling DNA that made their debut LP so inspiring. Musically, the track is a slight turn from the indie folk sound the band is known for with some dreamy syth, slide guitar and electric guitar strumming. However, the track keeps the warmth and honesty that made The Record so compelling. The stripped back soundscape allows for the lyrics and storytelling to really come through, which is where this track excels.

The first verse ends with “I don’t want to live forever / but I don’t want to die tonight.” This is the main thesis of the song, which goes into mortality, living a good life as opposed to an adventurous death and not living up to expectations. The line “I want to live a vibrant life / but I want to die a boring death” brings into focus this tension between living a fulfilling and adventurous life without the dangerous trappings of modern life and celebrity. This track is also a response to the “sad girl rock” the band is labeled with as the song is about love of life in the face of the nihilistic fetishisation of wanting to die in a blaze of glory. A truly adventurous life is not about how you die, but the connections, hope and strife it takes to live a full life. One person’s disappointment in valuing the mundane is another person’s joy for life and love of those around them.

The track Afraid of Heights is an existential thought experiment on what makes a full life and the trappings of celebrity and rock stardom. Even Neil Young regretted his statement that “it’s better to burn out than fade away” in My My, Hey Hey when he saw talented and young rock stars dying around him from drug overdoses. Boygenius points out that burning out may satisfy your ego, but what about those you leave behind. Having a vibrant life is not about how you die, but what you do with the time you have. This may seem mundane to those who crave celebrity, but true strength comes from hope and continuing to live.

Listen to Afraid of Heights