Here at Loverboy, we adore a good romance. After a bleak few years, what we really want to hear are queer stories of flirtation, of falling deeply in love….queer stories that have a happy ending. Angst is so passé.

Australians Cub Sport drop their fifth album, Jesus At the Gay Bar, today, Good Friday no less – a true blessing! The uplifting album recounts lead singer Tim Nelson’s coming out story, the beginning of his relationship with bandmate Sam Netterfield and where they are now…still thriving! ‘It feels like I’m finally getting to celebrate the magic of that time and legitimise my experience which is super validating for my younger self,’ Tim tells us. Indeed the lyrics are so open, inspiring and just really cute tbh. Add to that production that look to 90s Clubland culture, UK Garage and House and you have an album that makes you want to dance for days and never let the euphoria end.

To celebrate the release, Tim talks to us about the conception of the album, his favourite songs on it and ‘angelic but horny pop star vibes.’

Tim, thank you for writing a positive, life-affirming, happy ending of a queer album! We need more joyful, queer stories in the community!
I hadn’t really thought about that but it’s true… a lot of queer representation feels kind of tortured, I’m glad to contribute a happy ending.

How are you feeling about the release of Jesus At the Gay Bar compared with your last album Like Nirvana? They have very different energy, right?
I’m feeling really excited! We were in lock-downs and stuff for Like Nirvana so we ended up having to cancel a whole world tour and nearly everything we had planned for the campaign. As I write this I’m on a plane to Melbourne for a secret album pre-release party we’re throwing at a warehouse tonight! Feeling super grateful.

In an AMA on Reddit for your last album, you said you had eight or nine songs pretty much done and that was two years ago! How much have the songs changed since then and how has your relationship with them changed?
Oh I remember that! I thought Covid was gonna be over and we’d put out another album in 2021 or something lol. I really was on a writing streak at that point but none of those songs ended up on Jesus At The Gay Bar. As I kept writing through 2020-2022 my vision for the album evolved and became clearer and those songs from earlier in 2020 didn’t quite feel aligned anymore. There are some really great songs from those sessions though, I still listen to some of them. There was a song called Banana Bread (peak lockdown reference) that is such a good vibe, maybe it’ll come out some time. And another one called ‘All I Ever Wanted’ that I still love, but just wasn’t the right sound for this album.

This album focuses on a moment in time when you came out and started a relationship. Did you want to specifically focus on that moment and not the present? Was it tempting to expand the focus?
The album really spans a decade of my life. Reflecting on the earlier days of Sam’s and my relationship wasn’t something I necessarily planned to do, it was just what came through when I was writing, and those songs (Keep Me Safe and Zoom) ended up resonating with me in a huge way. It feels like I’m finally getting to celebrate the magic of that time and legitimise my experience which is super validating for my younger self.
There are songs about the present as well, I feel like over the course of the 10 songs I kind of fill in little parts of the story already told throughout the rest of discography, as well as what was happening through 2020-2022 while I was writing this album.

With such personal lyrics, you must have had some great messages from fans connecting to your songs.
We have! It’s always incredibly special when a song connects with a listener in a significant way. We’ve received messages from people saying that the music has literally saved their lives. When I get messages like that I’m like damn… it really doesn’t matter what else we achieve as the band, like it doesn’t get any bigger than that.

Have you noticed a different vibe from fans with each release? Sad, happy, joyous, etc How has that made you feel?
Totally, I feel like the reaction kind of mirrors the energy of whatever the song is and that’s really cool, feeling like listeners understand me and my experiences. When we released Confessions off our last album LIKE NIRVANA it was very much a reaction of like… people crying haha. We got lots of messages from listeners saying that it was really comforting and made them feel more at peace with their own experiences around sexuality, identity and gender expression which was really special.
Then with these new tracks… there have still been people messaging saying the songs have made them cry haha but it’s also like videos of people dancing and singing along at parties and stuff, which makes me so happy. My vision for this album was emotional comfort but like… party/euphoria/lightness, so it’s cool to see something that started as a vision happening in real life now.

‘Keep Me Safe’ feels a really vulnerable but exciting moment. A moment I remember so well for myself. Those first few steps out into this new world. Can you tell us more about this song?
Yeah it’s one of the most vulnerable moments for sure. I wanted to acknowledge the complexities of hidden relationships that so many young queer people experience, but I wanted the feeling of the song to capture the beauty and euphoria of what it’s like experiencing that sort of love for the first time. Like even if it’s hard, the joy outweighs it. Keep Me Safe might be my favourite song on the album.

In terms of production, ‘Songs About It’ is really hitting me. Gives me such 90s clubland vibes. Can you tell us more about this one?
I love that! Songs About It was produced by Styalz Fuego who is an incredible writer and producer based in Melbourne. I’d been listening to lots of Fred Again and Jayda G and I wanted to have a moment on the album that felt like pure fun/euphoria and this song really became that. We’ve played it live twice and it’s already a highlight of the show! Sooo fun.

The songs are so cohesive. What elements do you mark out as ways to keep this cohesion?
I think it’s just about energy. Each song on the album has its own sound, but there’s an energy that ties them together. I spent a lot of time attuning to how the flow of the songs all together made me feel, to make sure it was an exciting but smooth journey. So thank you for noticing the cohesion!

Was making the album one long mix ever a conversation? Will there be a remix album?
I’ve had people say that it almost feels like one long mix. It would be fun to do some time. There are a few amazing remix already out – Always Got The Love remixes by jamesjamesjames and Big Miz, Replay remixed by 1tbsp and Keep Me Safe remixed by Ninajirachi. I’d love to do the whole album but we’ll see how we go.

When conveying such an important time, how did you go about choosing the running order of the album?
I kind of already touched on this but I’d say it’s all just about feeling… after a certain song finishes where does the energy need to go for it to be the most enriched listening experience. I tried so many different combinations of songs, and different orders until it felt perfect to me.

And how did you choose the single order?
We knew from the first demo that we wanted Always Got The Love to be the first single. Then it was a combination of what’s going to be exciting for our fans and what aspects of the album do we want to let listeners in on before hearing the whole body of work as one. I love all the singles, especially Keep Me Safe, but I’m sooo excited for people to hear the album all together, that’s how I created it to be listened to.

You wrote the album during the pandemic, a time when a lot of people created angry music. Did this kind of euphoria come naturally to you during this period?
At times it did… once strict lockdowns ended it was really nice being able to hang out with friends and party and stuff. We’d been on album cycles consistently for the 4 years before that, so I think that social aspect and being able to relax and not have a super busy schedule brought an element of fun that I’d been missing. I think that was pretty inspiring.
There were periods of that time that were hard though. I get so much energy and inspiration from playing shows and connecting with fans in that way, so to suddenly have that stop was kind of jarring and I felt a bit lost. That did help form the vision for the album though. I was desperate for connection and joy, so that was the energy I was gravitating towards with my writing. I also had the return to touring in mind, and how I wanted the shows to feel for us and the fans when we were back together at shows.

Tell us more about what you wanted to achieve with the visuals for this era.
I wanted them to be an extension of the energy of the music. I wanted it to be like angelic but horny pop star vibes.

Lastly we are named after the infamous biggest selling single of 2001. So we always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song and why?
We Belong Together is one of the greatest songs of all time. It’s one of my karaoke songs too!

Jesus At The Gay Bar is out now
www.cubsport.com