Cub Sport

Whenever an independent band signs with a record label there is a niggling concern that their sound will change, or that there may be too many people involved in the process to maintain a sincere, honest feel. Thankfully, even though Brisbane band Cub Sport have changed their style slightly, fans are standing by them and enjoying the new music.

With This Is Your Vice being the group’s first album released through a label, they quickly learned “that there is a lot more to it than just recording the songs and putting them out”. Lead singer Tim Nelson explained: “We were used to being the only ones who had to sign off on things, but this time we had a bit of back and forth until everyone felt like it was at its best. I think the album is better for having that process and input from various people, so I’m really happy with where it ended up.”

To add to the stresses of changing the release structure of the album, Tim and the band chose to also try a new writing method with these songs, which he says “resulted in a bit of a different sound” but also meant that they are “more genuine songs than before”. When asked to elaborate on the biggest difference, Tim explained that their songs previously had a “purely happy sound, but with the more doest songwriting content it has shifted to be happy and sad at the same time.”

As part of the release campaign for This Is Your Vice, Cub Sport decided to run a quirky competition that offered the winner a chance to join the band for a night of karaoke. “We thought that would be a unique prize to share that experience with a fan,” said Tim, who added that his favourite karaoke song to perform was ‘We Belong Together’ by Mariah Carey.

Now as the group prepares to hit the road for the album release tour, they’re hitting the rehearsal room more than ever and are looking forward to finally getting back on stage. Tim added: “We only did one tour last year, with Andy Bull, so it’s been quite a while and we’re really excited to finally introduce these songs into our shows.”

Mar 3. The Basement, 29 Reiby Place, Sydney. $17+b.f. Tickets & info: thebasement.com.au