Song · Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
“Be Afraid” by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
From the EP Dreamsicle (2020)
“Be Afraid” by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit appears on 11 radio countdowns from 11 stations in 2020. It was first released in 2020 on the EP Dreamsicle. Its best result is #6 on the WEXT Top 97 of 2020. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #6 indie & aaa song of 2020 and #48 of the '20s.
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"Be Afraid" came out in April 2020, written by Jason Isbell alone and cut with the 400 Unit in full cry, with Dave Cobb producing and mixing and Gena Johnson engineering. Isbell sings lead and swaps acoustic and electric guitars with Sadler Vaden, who also adds classical guitar, while Jimbo Hart holds down bass and Chad Gamble plays drums and tambourine.
Derry deBorja fills the gaps with organ, piano, keyboards and even an omnichord, and Amanda Shires saws away on fiddle. The backing choir is a surprise: Shires and Isbell are joined by Jay Buchanan and David Crosby, which gives the chorus a big, ragged harmony that the band plays like a dare.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 63 | WERS 88.9 Boston, MA | WERS Top 88 Songs of 2020 | 88 |
| 2020 | 6 | Exit 97.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | WEXT Top 97 of 2020 | 97 |
| 2020 | 44 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2020 | 104 |
| 2020 | 37 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2020 | 89 |
| 2020 | 41 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2020 | 89 |
| 2020 | 32 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2020 | 90 |
| 2020 | 24 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2020 | 107 |
| 2020 | 43 | Indie 102.3 Denver, CO | Indie 102.3 Top 102.3 Songs of 2020 | 103 |
| 2020 | 37 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Top 100 Most Played Songs of 2020 | 100 |
| 2020 | 10 | 90.9 The Bridge Kansas City, MO | 90.9 The Bridge Top 90 Songs of 2020 | 90 |
| 2020 | 17 | Lightning 100 Nashville, TN | Lightning 100 Top 200 Songs of 2020 | 199 |
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