Cub Sport is Releasing “Jesus At The Gay Bar” on Good Friday
Cub Sport is an Australian pop group formed in Brisbane in early 2010. The band is made up of stellar musicians, each one rocking it on their instruments. We have come to know Zoe Davis on keyboards, bass guitar, lead guitar and vocals, Tim Nelson on lead vocals and keyboards, Sam “Bolan” Netterfield on keyboards and vocals, and Dan Puusaari on drums.
They have released four studio albums, This Is Our Vice (March 2016), Bats (September 2017), Cub Sport (January 2019) and Like Nirvana (July 2020). Today we are in for a big treat. The band is back together and we are expecting their fifth studio album Jesus At The Gay Bar, out on Good Friday, April 7.
What can we expect from the album? “10 songs, zero skips… ethereal, euphoric, party energy but emotive… energising and heartfelt … If you feel stuck or scared, just know that you won’t feel like that forever and there’ll be a time when sharing your queerness with the world will feel like the gift that it is.“
Jesus At The Gay Bar is about moving forward unencumbered. It’s an ode to celebrating one’s past, not just outrunning it, and looking boldly into the future, without the fear of past demons resurfacing. “There’s a lot from my life before I came out that has always been shrouded in shame, fear and secrecy. But it doesn’t have to be a secret anymore, and I feel like I can really shine a light on the magic of it and recognise and celebrate it for what it was and is,” says Nelson. “A lot of this album is validating my younger self–like if I could have heard some of these songs back then, I might have found some peace within myself sooner, maybe even celebration.”
Here at Galore we had the pleasure of interviewing Cub Sport, tune in for more!
Connect with Cub Sport
Instagram | Merch | Tickets for UK & NZ
FEATURE INTERVIEW
Tell us a bit about yourselves, who is Cub Sport, how did you all come to know each other?
We’re a band from Australia. Sam, Zo and I all went to the same school and we met Dan through other school friends. We started playing music together just after finishing school – in our time as a band we’ve released 3 EPs and 4 albums, about to put out our 5th. Along the way Sam and I fell in love and got married too… it’s honestly kinda like a coming of age movie.
Tell us about your killer Grammys red carpet outfit. We love the browns and denim on denim look.
Thank you!! The vision was like… futuristic mermaid-esque interpretation of Britney’s iconic denim look at the 2001 AMAs. We worked with stylist Gadir Rajab and Australian designers Olivia Rowan and Kourh to bring the vision to life – they all killed it!
Your new album “Jesus At The Gay Bar” is out Good Friday, April 7. What can audiences expect to listen to?
10 songs, zero skips… ethereal, euphoric, party energy but emotive… energising and heartfelt
What is some advice you can share with queer youth struggling to feel comfortable in their identity?
If you feel stuck or scared, just know that you won’t feel like that forever and there’ll be a time when sharing your queerness with the world will feel like the gift that it is.
How would you describe your sound?
Angelic but a little bit sleazy
What is your song writing process?
Most often I start by playing around with synth sounds and chords until I’ve got something that feels exciting and inspiring. Then I’ll usually record myself free-styling vocals and see what comes out. Often those instinctual, spontaneous melodies/lyrics are really special and aren’t something you could necessarily think up. Then I’ll go in and build it up with more production etc, find any lyrics that are coming through in any mumbled free-styled vocals. It’s about being in the flow, staying open to how the song is making me feel and following those instincts on where to take it.
How did your song “Songs About It” come to be? Can you tell us about the story behind it?
I wrote ‘Songs About It’ with my friends Nat Dunn and Styalz Fuego in the middle of 2021. I was listening to lots of Jayda G and Fred Again and wanted to lean into those house influences and create something that had a kind of emotional yearning but at its core felt fun and euphoric. Lyrically it’s about falling in love and basically letting everything and everyone else in your life fade away into the background.
What are some of your favorite effects to add to your voice (i.e. reverb, distortion, delay)?
Reverb is my fav. I think it works really well with my vocal tone to capture a really heavenly sound. The chorus of ‘Keep Me Safe’ is like peak ethereal reverb vocals. I also love playing with autotune and distortion – I did lots of that on our last album LIKE NIRVANA, almost using my voice like a synth or lead guitar or something in some songs, my fav use of that is probably on Break Me Down (with Mallrat)
What is your song “Keep Me Safe” about? What elements of your music video tell this narrative?
I wrote Keep Me Safe about when Sam and I first got together when we were 17. It was such a magical time and being with Sam was the best thing that had ever happened to me but it was complicated ‘cause we weren’t ready to come out, so the whole thing was a secret.
We’d hang out in our cars ‘cause it was kind of the only place we had to ourselves, that’s what the lyric “I just wanna drive forever, I don’t wanna come back ever” is about. The video captures the feeling of having our own perfect secret world. I think you could probably draw some meaning from the use of water throughout the video… like we were kind of in this suspended reality, separated from the rest of the world.
Tell us your secret, how did you film those underwater scenes for the “Keep Me Safe” music video?
Hahaha no secret really… We shot it all in slow motion which helps it all look much more graceful but treading water in jeans for an hour was kinda hard and the chlorine in that pool was hectic… our eyes were so sore and my vision was blurry for the rest of the shoot, seeing halos around lights and stuff
What are three songs or projects you’re currently listening to that you can’t stop playing?
SZA – SOS
Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here
Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
If you could collaborate on a track with one of your favorite artists, who would it be?
Okay so this actually happened yesterday! I got to write with Troye Sivan who is such an angel and just has such good instincts in the studio. So many great melodic and lyrical ideas – it was really inspiring to work with him and the song we made is beautiful!
I started working on some new music with Nick Littlemore the other week while I was in LA for the Grammys too and I think Caroline Polachek would sound so beautiful on one of the songs in particular… so that’s something I’ll be manifesting.
What’s one city you haven’t performed in that you look forward to performing at in the future?
I’m really excited to play in cities in South America one day! I’m going to Brazil for a shoot next week and I’m sooo excited
If you could have your own festival, what would the name of the festival be, and who would be on the line up?
Maybe it could be called like ‘A Gay On The Green’ and the lineup would be something like:
Cub Sport, Mallrat, Charli XCX, Fred Again, Caroline Polachek, Frank Ocean, Troye Sivan, SZA, Kim Petras, Lil Yachty, Lana Del Rey, Shygirl, PinkPantheress (with guest appearance from Ice Spice), Omar Apollo, Ruel, Britney, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Hatchie, Lizzo, The Blaze, Romy, jamesjamesjames, Tove Lo, Two Shell, Jamie XX, 1tbsp, Ninajirachi, Miguel, Bladee, Jayda G, Flume, Lorde, Memphis LK, Grimes, Blu DeTiger, Pretty Girl, Aqua, Four Tet
Other than a new album, what do you have in store for 2023?
Playing lots of shows! We’re touring the UK, North America and Australia and I just can’t wait to play this new album live, I think it’s gonna be fuuuun
Connect with Cub Sport
Instagram | Merch | Tickets for UK & NZ
TEAM CREDITS
Photographer: Mia Rankin
Features Editor: Shirley Reynozo @moyamusic_
