Sublime returns after 30 years with ‘Until the Sun Explodes’

Since original frontman Bradley Nowell died by overdose weeks before the release of their 1996 platinum-selling self titled album, the surviving members of Sublime have kept the spirit of the alternate rock hitmakers alive with a series of side projects. With Nowell’s son Jakob now at the helm, Until the Sun Explodes, the first album released under the Sublime banner in 30 years, honors the late singer’s legacy with a trademark mix of hardcore punk, reggae, hip-hop and absurdist humor with a dark edge. 

The younger Nowell, just 11 months old when his father passed, made his first appearance with the band when he linked up with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh to play at a 2023 benefit concert for reggae-hardcore crossover pioneer Paul “H.R.” Hudson. All three felt a Sublime Renaissance was in order after the performance, and Nowell began the process of settling in as frontman of the group his dad once led. A single with reggae band Stick Figure followed in 2024, and soon production for the fourth Sublime album was underway.

Nearly every detail of Until the Sun Explodes feels plucked right out of Sublime’s ‘90s run. Nowell’s voice bears an uncanny resemblance to his father’s, and the precise reproduction of even the subtlest mannerisms suggests the album is the culmination of a lifelong study of Sublime’s discography. The eclectic influences that formed the original iteration’s music return with exceptional clarity, from Bad Religion-esque LA hardcore explosions to downtempo dub moments that echo and soothe like a King Tubby classic. 

Despite insisting in interviews that he made an album of feel good songs, Nowell’s writing carries the same self-destructive streak that made his father’s so captivating. Whether direct, like in “Wizard” — “I met the wizard at the back of the bar / He told me later to come back after dark / I bought pills at the corner store / I took a couple, now I might need some more” — or delivered through a character, like in “Personal Hell” — “In another life of mine, I knew a man / He’d lie on his old lady ’bout as quick as he can / Dependin’ on the way she would stutter and slur / His infidelity to her would never occur” — Nowell, now sober after a yearslong bout with addiction that started at age 12, confronts vice from a variety of angles with humor and vulnerability. 

Though the entire album works as a tribute to the late Nowell, the penultimate title track serves as the most explicit and emotional dedication. The gentle reggae rocker builds out the titular exploding sun theme as Nowell takes on the difficult task of honoring a man who is at once a stranger and his North Star: “Then the sun slowly rose on that lonely coast / And I’d only hope that you know I owe you my life / Well do you know I owe you my life? / Until the sun blows up in the sky / I owe you my life.” 

The exploding sun theme extends to the album’s finality — the band has all but confirmed Until the Sun Explodes as the first and last Renaissance release. If this is it, they got the sendoff right. 

3 Badfish out of 5 

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