My Cub Sport Top 10 Countdown
Despite discovering Cub Sport in the past year they actually have a pretty healthy catalogue of music compared to a lot of their LGBTQ peers. 3 albums and 2 EPs worth of material to be exact. Originally they were a fun summer pop band that had some tropical influence as well as influences from Foster the People and Phoenix. The first 2 EPs see the group mostly singing about warm tropical weather, fun in the sun and yes even girls. By their full length debut album This is Our Vice they are starting to shed their earlier image and sound but they have not transitioned into openly gay songwriting yet. Their sound on that album though is starting to evolve to being more atmospheric in places.
Bats, their second full length album, marks the exact moment Cub Sport comes out of the closet. It's also when their music moves further away from their earlier tropical party sound and into a more atmospheric chillwave sound with light touches of RnB and Soul. Over the course of these videos you also see lead singer Tim Nelson become more and more flamboyant and comfortable in his own skin. Their latest release from this year, which is self-titled, is when Cub Sport is not only out of the closet but confident in who they are as people with Tim and Sam now married. They are now singing about their relationship in intimate detail and are using the "he" pronoun without fear. Musically it is still very chillwave in places but elements of EDM and club music is also infiltrating into their sound so it does contain some of their most fun and danceable music since the first 2 EPs.
Overall Cub Sport's music is pretty diverse and there is a clear evolution in their sound, which also tracks their steps towards embracing their sexuality and their love for one another. While we are in the midst of a Queer wave in music, Cubsport remains a unique experience due to Sam and Tim's marriage. Through their music, sound, image and interviews Tim and Sam are normalizing same sex relationships and same sex marriage in a way that has never really been done before in pop music. They are charting their own course and I'm excited to see where they go next both as a musical unit and their relationship with one another.
10. Pool
Pool definitely captures what early Cub Sport was all about, which is basically having fun in the sun while being young. It's nothing too deep or new but there's a reason this kind of sound and sentiment continues to resonate in pop music. Pop music first and foremost is about having fun and making you feel good and Pool accomplishes that with flying colors. The video is also pretty cute too. If they never evolved past this I probably wouldn't be talking about them, but I am not writing off this era either because the songs are fun and engaging.
9. I Can't Save You
This song has one of their most immediate melodies. Right from the start this song grabs your ear. While their first full length album saw them going into a moodier and more atmospheric territory this song seems to recall their first 2 EPS when it was just about catchy melodies and feel good hooks. I Can't Save You feels like the last gasp of that era for Cub Sport.
8. Only Friend
Only Friend seems to be the moment Cub Sport got a bit moodier and a bit darker. The video also reflects this as no one is smiling anymore and the band members all seem disconnected from one another and those around them. Looking back knowing what we know now I feel this song captures a lot of Tim's struggles with hiding in the closet. As someone who knows how hard living in the closet can be I do find I am attracted to moody atmospheric songs and this one fits the bill. That main synth line will get lodged in your head though and would have been worthy of being on a Neon Indian album.
7. O' Lord
O' Lord is the song in which Sam and Tim come out of the closet. The video sees them intimate with one another in a way we had never seen before. At the same time the song reflects the feelings of fear and stress that come with not only coming out of the closet but expressing your love for another person. Both acts make you extremely vulnerable and there is a fear of rejection that can feel suffocating at times. That vulnerability is reflected at the start of the song with Tim as he sings in acapella before the band joins in. The band's sound here also feels fuller and grander than what came before and it helps raise the emotional stakes of the song greatly. Cub Sport took a huge risk with O' Lord but thankfully they were rewarded for it. Their journey toward self acceptance and self love begins here.
6. Chasin'
A great pop song that sees Tim deciding what he should do with his life and deciding to embrace happiness as an out gay man instead of living in fear in the closet. The video presents the band as a united front and you also see the growing intimacy between Tim and Sam here and it is beautiful to watch.
5. Paradise
This is the best song from their first 2 EPs. Paradise is a short but sweet pop song that is all hooks and no fat. Nothing deep is going on here but if you want a good pick me up that will put a smile on your face then Paradise is the song for you. My husband loves this song. In fact he says its his favorite by the band. The video is also lots of fun. My own Mom even commented that having a boat on the ocean with a built in water slide looks like a good time!
4. Good Guys Go
I've mentioned that Chillwave feels like a huge influence on Cub Sport and for me Good Guys Go is the most Chillwave song in their entire catalogue. Those moody synths that fade in and out of the song are atmospheric as hell and give the song a moody edge that I find very appealing. What's also appealing is Tim singing romantically about other boys in an open fashion with no coding in the lyrics. The music video meanwhile sees Tim by himself writhing all over a car with bleach blonde hair and an open jacket. Tim is really starting to come into his own here as a front man and as a gay man and I am definitely here for it!
3. Summer Lover (Remix)
The album version of Summer Lover is mostly a mood piece but the remix transforms it into a bubbly dance song that captures the fun in the sun attitude of early Cub Sport but with more Chillwave and EDM influences. I will admit remixes are not always my thing but this remix is exceptional. This remix, despite having the same lyrics and vocals, feels like a different creation completely. I hope they do a video for this remix at some point down the road. I'm also a sucker for songs about summer so I will be coming back to this song quite often for years to come.
2. Sometimes
While Tim and Sam came out with Bats, it's with their 2019 album that they fully grapple with the idea that coming out isn't just about sexual orientation it's also about allowing yourself to be more confident with who you are as a person and as a gay man. The line where Tim sings "Every day is a revelation...I'm learning things about myself" is super relatable for anyone coming out of the closet. Those lyrics sums up how you start to let emotions and feelings come to the surface that you had previously suppressed in order to fit in. You begin to remember who you used to be while learning how to be more accepting of your true self. The quiet verses reflect this deep contemplation while the chorus is a celebration of finding your true self and shouting it from the rooftops for all to hear. In fact that transition between the quiet verses and full fledged dancing on the main chorus is the most euphoric and inspiring moment in Cub Sport's entire catalogue thus far. Coming out is hard to do but it's worth it in the long run and Sometimes captures that moment of euphoric self love brilliantly.
1. Come Out
An extension of the themes of Sometimes this one is my favorite due to how it also captures the complex feelings and struggles one goes through when coming to terms with your own homosexuality. It has my favorite line in their entire catalogue "Yeah I came out and I felt fucking free but there's so much I keep inside of me." I came out of the closet fully my freshmen year of college but for years I kept on playing a role to the point that I forgot I was playing a role. I was suppressing parts of myself to make straight people more comfortable with me and as a result I wasn't being true to myself. I thought I had confidence but it wasn't real. I also had a hard time crying for years and it's only been recently that I have been able to cry and feel things again that I have not felt for so long. The line where Tim sings "And now I'm crying dancing on the floor" also really gets to me because Tim is singing how he has opened up a Pandora's box of emotions that he kept suppressed for years. It can feel overwhelming when those long suppressed emotions hit you all at once but it's also a beautiful moment too because you've rediscovered who you really are again and no one can take that away from you. Like Sometimes the juxtaposition between the calmer verses and the full fledged dancing during the chorus works wonders and helps capture the highs and lows of coming out of the closet perfectly. Come Out has become an anthem for me and that's why it's my favorite Cub Sport song.
