Review: 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.