Welcome back to Origins, our recurring series that gives artists a space to break down everything that went into their latest release. Today, the British alternative rock group Sports Team dig into the themes behind the song and video for “I’m in Love (Subaru).”
There aren’t many songs inspired by a Subaru Impreza. In fact, Sports Team might have the only one.
The British group returns today with “I’m in Love (Subaru),” the lead single from their forthcoming third album, Boys These Days (out February 28th), and a love letter to — you guessed it — a red Subaru Impreza. Why that specific car, you might ask? For vocalist Rob Knaggs, it represents an unattainable ideal; a shiny car for a shiny, impenetrable life.
Subarus evoke safety and security, and in “I’m in Love (Subaru),” that manifests in a bright, ’80s-inspired sound that is only a few degrees away from a forgotten Huey Lewis and the News song. Beyond the capitalistic tether of a man and his new car, Sports Team were also heavily inspired by the iconic moment of Bill Clinton playing his saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1992 — hence the wailing sax throughout the track and lines like, “And you’re wearing that shirt that you stole/ Said ‘My US president fucks’” and “Bill doesn’t blow his saxophone on daytime shows any more.”
“The mood of the first verse and the chorus is quite sincere, a Hollywood-inspired, teenage love song,” Rob Knaggs says, “but by the time we get to the second verse, we’ve found the worm in the middle of that apple. All the symbols of teenage rebellion, the car itself, have all been co-opted into selling something that can’t actually be bought.”
Indeed, there’s a subversive edge to “I’m in Love (Subaru)” that takes it to a much more potent place. Still, Knaggs and co. are unabashedly dramatic and silly, and their humor is definitely on display in the track’s Subaru-starring music video. All six members of Sports Team look like they’re having the time of their lives, and it cements “I’m in Love (Subaru)” as quite the statement piece to kick off a new era.
Watch the video for Sports Team’s “I’m in Love (Subaru)” and read on for Rob Knagg’s Origins breakdown.