Love is a foundational theme in Cub Sport, thanks in no small part to frontperson Tim Nelson and keyboardist Sam Netterfield being married since 2018 (and together for years before then). “I want that to be the first message that comes through,” Nelson told Apple Music about their 2020 album, LIKE NIRVANA. And come through it does, starting with the Brisbane band’s platinum-selling 2016 breakthrough “Come on Mess Me Up,” a vulnerable invitation to “break me if you’ll still take me.” Flanked by multi-instrumentalist Zoe Davis and drummer Dan Puusaari, Cub Sport’s dreamy indie pop has steadily evolved into something more mainstream and personal. After 2018’s “Sometimes” catapulted straight to the club with a massive, Cher-worthy chorus, the 2020 single “I Feel Like I Am Changin’” felt suitably confessional for the lockdown era, with Nelson’s airy voice drifting through delicate synths and electronic drum hits. The evocative lead single of the band’s boldly titled fifth album, Jesus at the Gay Bar, 2022’s “Always Got the Love” continued the celebration of queer celebration, complete with Nelson and Netterfield kissing and embracing for the cover art. Such serene romance suits Cub Sport well, even when Nelson and bandmates are reinventing The Presets’ palpitating 2008 hit “This Boy’s In Love” as a slow, disembodied ballad.