I have got to nip this in the bud: Kubra Commander is a long-time, easy-shoo-in favorite. That isn’t a problem per se, but that draw has attendant drawbacks.
The bud, since we’re talking idioms, is unflinching adoration. And nipping it, in this context, entails taking it apart with vigor – which means fawning on the one hand and, well, murder on the other.
And if we take the “There’s Something on My Mind,” the Cebu outfit’s new single being released today, it’s pretty clear murder is off the table.
The song, as with anything in his oeuvre, proves how Bobbi Olvido is a maker with a reverential eye for art, but not the kind of reverence that renders him too precious he’s unable to churn affecting work.
When quizzed for a precis pre-release, for instance, he was more attuned to its musical elements – acknowledging the presence of “jangly guitars, a steady rhythm, and a lush string arrangement” – and was, at best, curt but not cringe with his summary of themes, painting the track as an ode to “escapism, personal growth, and [tying] loose ends.”
“There’s Something on My Mind,” moreover, is proof of the bar Olvido’s raised in studio and song craft: a masterful restraint, an ear for balance, a pulse for what gets people moving.
Whether it’s for swaying, or vibing, or going off the rails on the club floor – whatever floats your boat in idiom or nomenclature – Kubra Commander is certainly able to sprinkle some indie-rock fairy dust onto the mix.
Culled from a heady vat of inspiration that includes bands like Athlete, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and Doves, it’s clear the Brit pop fountain is far from running dry in Kubra’s executions; it can, moreover, ebb and flow into wider-spanning tides.
As for the personnel, “Most of the current live band got to play on the track, with co-producer Jeremy Rigodon playing drums once again,” Olvido shares, alluding to contributions from guitarist Mich Pacalioga, bassist Jah Acab, pianist Jhon Dayak, and tambourine player Daryll Salazar.
“Make me better, I asked you on the way out / Try another, another way to bail out / Slide me under, save me from my self-doubt / Hear your brothers, help them out of this town,” goes Olvido’s always-fluid prose, perfect fodder for their fab new romp.
Listen to “There’s Something on My Mind,” grab someone fun, and do a little dance in your living-room today.