Cub Sport

Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, Cub Sport crafts an upbeat strain of indie pop that leans heavily into its melodic core. The group, which operated for a short time as Tim Nelson & the Cub Scouts before shortening to Cub Scouts, formed in 2010 when singer and chief songwriter Tim Nelson assembled guitarist Zoe Davis, keyboardist Sam Netterfield, and drummer Dan Puusaari. Nelson, who began piano instruction at age six and started composing during high school, first crossed paths with his future collaborators in that setting. The lead cut from their 2012 debut EP, Told You So, quickly built an ardent following through college radio in both the United States and Australia. Their follow-up EP, Paradise, surfaced the next year and paved the way for live dates and festival slots across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Nettwerk put out the 2015 EP Only Friend; several of its songs later surfaced on the band’s first full-length effort, This Is Our Vice, which reached stores in March 2016. Nelson handled production for the second album at his own residence, framing the project as a personal statement shaped by personal evolution. MGM issued BATS in 2017, after which the quartet embarked on an intensive touring cycle that included the singles “Sometimes” and “Summer Lover.” Both tracks appeared on the self-titled third album released in January 2019. By the summer of 2020 the band had issued preview tracks—“Confessions,” “Drive,” and “I Feel Like I’m Changin’”—ahead of their fourth LP, Like Nirvana.