As a new running feature, we're debuting Late To The Party to spotlight an artist that is already fairly well-known that we either previously refused to like or simply didn't know. When it comes to this band, this isn't like being late to a party. It's like showing up for a June wedding in November. It's not just that this band is already sort-of-famous in the UK - they actually don't exist anymore. On June 6, it was announced that I Was A Cub Scout will cease to be. They'll be honoring their tour dates and a few festival gigs but after that, they'll only exist as the zeros and ones you download. So maybe this is less being late to a party and more like trying to write a feature article on someone who's dead. The spotlight becomes a eulogy.
I Was A Cub Scout reminds me of a British Death Cab For Cutie (no coincidence, they're opening for the band later this summer). But the songs are both more and less cloying than Ben Gibbard's all-star, major-label shit-show. No ones soul is meeting anyone elses body. But, it's got the same level of emotional frankness (and childishness) that makes Gibbard, at the very least, a compelling and polarizing figure. There's a little bit of The Black Kids rip-off Cure synths and some of the esoteric electronics of MGMT. That's three major label name-drops in one paragraph. Columbia and Atlantic! I can't breathe! The walls are closing in!
Important: the choruses wait but they're worth it. These songs unpack themselves fast and slow. They are immediately satisfying but you'll find yourself coming back. "Pink Squares" might be the best song I've heard in a long, long time. We're bringing you a few songs and a video. Enjoy it and pour some out for your fallen indie-rock homeboys.
Listen ::
I Was A Cub Scout - Pink Squares
I Was A Cub Scout - We Were Made To Love You
Watch ::
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