Cub Sport, This Boy’s In Love | COVERS

In the 11th edition of COVERS (2025), Cub Sport delivers a compelling rendition of “This Boy’s In Love,” originally performed by The Presets.

Ah, it’s time to get cozy and cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers.  It is open to established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 11^th edition of COVERS (2025), Cub Sport delivers a compelling rendition of “This Boy’s In Love” originally performed by The Presets.

“This time, fight fire with fire / ‘Cause, baby, tonight the world belongs to you and I.” Australian indie-pop collective Cub Sport never ceases to amaze. My first encounter: a cover of “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye West.  Unexpected yet brilliant! Over the years, Tim Nelson and company have dropped some surefire bops that more folks need to be buzzing about stateside.  In 2025, the LGBTQ collective (Nelson and Sam Netterfield are married) released a new single, “This Boy’s In Love”. If you are unfamiliar with Australian music, you may be naïve that “This Boy’s In Love” is a cover.  The Presets (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) originally recorded it in their 2008 album, Apocalypso. Hamilton and Moyes composed and produced “This Boy’s In Love.” Nelson produced the Cub Sport version.

To reiterate, if you didn’t know there was an original version of “This Boy’s In Love,” you would assume this was a Cub Sport original.  In the indie-pop collective’s hands, it becomes a stripped piano ballad,  This is starkly different from The Presets’ original, which is quicker in tempo, features driving synths, and a relentless groove.  Cub Sport maintains a chilling, cool vibe.  Besides the piano, light strings enter, but subtlety remains the modus operandi.  Nelson sings beautifully, delivering an authentic, nuanced, and tender performance. The chorus is nothing short of divine!

“This boy’s in love, love

This boy’s in love

Under the city

Under the city lights.”

The Presets’ original never specifies a gay relationship. It is open to interpretation.  The music video feels homoerotic with two shirtless men wrestling. In Nelson’s hands, as a gay married man, “This Boy’s in Love” confirms an enduring same-sex relationship, one where, despite being judged for their love, they will remain ‘locked-in’ until the very end. They’ll exit: “They’ll never see our faces again.” The second verse (“Don’t tell the world what we’ve known”) grows a bit more dynamic, but still never breaks a sweat. The second chorus is significantly louder than the rest of the song. The ‘come down’ is sweet, with Nelson wowing with his ripe falsetto. Neither the original nor this radiant, stripped cover of “This Boy’s In Love” needs to be overanalyzed – it is a stunning song! One more note, though. I must mention the steamy single cover art – hot 🥵! Indeed, THIS boy’s in love!

Cub Sport // “This Boy’s In Love” // Cub Sport // 2025

Cub Sport, This Boy’s In Love: Covers No. 11 (2025) [📷: Brent Faulkner /The Musical Hype; Cub Sport; Alan Cordero, Wolf Art from Pexels; AcatXIo, Enrique, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]