Review: Sublime – Until The Sun Explodes

Sublime - Until The Sun Explodes

When I first heard that the son of late Bradley Nowell, Jakob, was going to be taking his rightful place in fronting Sublime, I was immediately intrigued and excited about the premise. How do you replace one of the most charismatic and endearing frontmen of the 90’s? Jakob Nowell really was the only logical choice, and hearing him sing on Until The Sun Explodes gives me chills in hearing just how similar he sounds to his father. 30 years after the classic Sublime record was released, Jakob Nowell, Bud Gaugh, and Eric Wilson had the near-impossible task of living up to anywhere near that type of legacy for one of the most cherished bands from my generation. Growing up, if you didn’t have a Sublime CD in your CaseLogic briefcase, you most certainly knew someone who did, as the self-titled album grew major traction during the height of the “CD boom”-era of the 90’s. Until The Sun Explodes has all of the elements of a Sublime record, with the original members too, but even if Jakob sounds as close to Bradley as humanly possible, it doesn’t always translate into the same type of polished songwriting. Instead, Sublime do their best to honor Bradley while providing a closing chapter to the legacy of the band as a “thank you” to the fans who are still playing their music today.

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MojoPin – “Out The Door” EP Track By Track

MojoPin

Today San Diego alternative grunge band, MojoPin, are releasing their latest EP called Out The Door, and I was able to catch up with this trio for an exclusive track-by-track feature. The band has steadily been gaining traction in the rock scene, and their viral cover of Pearl Jam’s “Black” has been viewed over 500k times. If you’re enjoying the feature, please consider streaming the EP here.

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Review: Olivia Rodrigo – You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love

Olivia Rodrigo - You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love

After having well-surpassed the dangers of a “sophomore slump” on her second album of Guts, Olivia Rodrigo must’ve felt mounting pressure to continue to deliver on her third major label record. You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love on its surface is a pretty depressing title for a pop artist, but Rodrigo weaves these 13 songs together with veteran ease, precision, and purpose. The LP features a “pinch me” moment for Rodrigo with a guest collaboration with Robert Smith of The Cure, who contributes vocals and harmonies on the record’s tenth song of “What’s Wrong With Me”. She continues her collaborative process with producer Dan Nigro (Chappell Roan, Kylie Minogue), and through this trusted relationship, Rodrigo takes some big creative risks on arguably her most experimental album to date. With so many stylistic choices being made here, the album faced the danger of being a disjointed listening experience, but You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love ends up being the polar opposite of that. Olivia Rodrigo continues to get better and better at her songwriting craft and her third album is arguably her strongest to date.

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Review: Big D and the Kids Table – The Good Ole American Saturday Night

Big D and the Kids Table

If there’s one thing you can say about the four-decade career of ska band Big D and the Kids Table, it’s that they have been a model of consistency. Consistently touring, putting out record after record to keep their fans happy and engaged, and honing in on their songwriting craft to make confident material. The band’s latest LP, The Good Ole American Saturday Night continues down the path of this “working man” approach by taking a look back at how far they’ve come as a band, while still accelerating their development as a unit by creating some truly great songs. Big D and the Kids Table continue to fine-tune their dynamic and punchy ska sound on this confident record that is sure to keep their adoring fans coming to the shows and singing back every word.

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