Cebuano space rock aims for the stars

Bobby Olvido must be one of the most prolific songwriters around. “On the Outside” is one of six singles that Kubra Commander released this year so far. There’s still a little time left for more; if not from this project, then from one of Olvido’s other handful bands in Cebu and beyond.

As a project since 2016, Kubra Commander has built an anthemic sound that turns small bars into arenas, or maybe lunar craters. An exquisite corpse of wordplay, drenched in reverb, follows a thread of free association into the subconscious of the mind.

Their last album Rhythm Tourists was one of my favorites of 2022, and it’s exciting to see them unleash a groovier side to their psychedelic inclinations. While a lot of danceable bands have been emerging from Cebu as of late, “On the Outside” draws from the grittier underbelly of the Queen City of the South.

Many mourned when Cebuano institution Kukuk’s Nest, an artist-run space and café that cultivated the city’s independent music, theater, and literary communities for 34 years, closed down for good in 2023. But the scene’s momentum of defiant independence is alive and well in “On the Outside.”