Jakob Nowell says the current version of Sublime is not a revival or a tribute act. He sees it as “the fourth era of Sublime,” and the band’s new album Until the Sun Explodes arrives Friday.
That framing matters because this lineup is carrying a name with a long and complicated history. The group began with Bradley Nowell, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson in 1988, then moved through two later phases before reaching the version now led by Bradley Nowell’s son.
Why This Era Feels Different
Speaking to Billboard via Zoom from Long Beach, Calif., Jakob Nowell described the band’s goal as something closer to a reset than a retread. He said, “I hope people consider it a renaissance,” adding that the music is meant to feel like a “fun, messy, chaotic punk band that your parents used to love and showed you, or that you just discovered two years ago and you love it for your own reasons now.”
Gaugh sees the same opportunity from a different angle. He said the band wanted to give both old and new listeners “their Sublime,” so younger fans can claim the music as their own rather than treating it as inherited history.
Sublime’s classic era ended with Bradley Nowell’s death in 1996 from a heroin overdose at age 28. The original trio released three albums, including the five-times platinum self-titled album that came out two months after his death, and left behind enduring songs like “What I Got,” “Santeria” and “Wrong Way.”
How Jakob Nowell Got Here
Jakob Nowell grew up around the band’s orbit but spent years avoiding the obvious path. He said playing under the Sublime name “didn’t seem like the right thing” at first, and he spent about 10 years developing his own projects before agreeing to step into the role.
That reluctance was tied to both identity and pressure. He said he dealt with drug use and alcoholism as a teen, got sober at 17 with help from Todd Zalkins, and later helped establish the Nowell Family Foundation to support musicians in addiction recovery.
After studying creative writing at Long Beach State College, he focused on bands such as LAW and Jakobs Castle. The latter released Enter: The Castle in 2024 and plans another album next year.
The turning point came in December 2023, when Jakob Nowell joined Gaugh and Wilson for a benefit concert for Bad Brains’ Paul “H.R.” Hudson in Los Angeles. Jakob Nowell said he was 28 at the time, the same age his father died, and Gaugh said hearing Jakob’s voice sound so similar to Bradley’s gave him chills.
What Went Into Until The Sun Explodes
After that show, the band moved ahead with more performances, including Coachella during 2024, and later released “Feel Like That” with Stick Figure. It was the first new release under the Sublime name in 27 years and reached No. 7 on the Alternative Airplay chart, setting the stage for a full album.
Instead of working with Travis Barker and John Feldmann, the band recorded Until the Sun Explodes with Jakobs Castle producer Jon Joseph at Harbor Martyr Studios in San Pedro. The 21-track set also includes spoken-word skits and expands the lineup with guitarists Trey Pangborn and Zane “Zayno” Vandevort, plus DJ Product, formerly Doug Boyce.
Guests appear throughout the album, including H.R. on “Trey’s Song,” G. Love on “Come Correct,” Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise on “247-369,” and Fidlar and Skeggs on other tracks. Jakob Nowell’s grandfather Jim Nowell, who died earlier this year, also appears on “Maybe Partying Will Help…Pt. 2.”
Jakob Nowell said the songwriting process grew out of rehearsals and soundchecks, where loose jams kept turning into songs. He described Sublime as a band that mixes California punk with reggae, dub and hip-hop, then pushes everything through a chaotic, irreverent lens.
That approach shaped the album’s sound as well. Nowell said the aim was to capture the same “messy and frenetic” energy that made Sublime’s early work feel so distinct, while keeping the spirit of 40oz. to Freedom in view.
A Warm Reception, And A Possible End Point
The album has already started strongly, with both the title track and opening song “Ensenada” reaching No. 1 on Alternative Airplay. The band’s live calendar is just as packed, beginning June 13 at San Diego’s Petco Park and including the Sublime Festival in Portland on June 27.
Sublime is also set for Vans Warped Tour stops in Montreal and Orlando, plus appearances at Louder Than Life in Louisville in September and Aftershock in Sacramento in October. The band will also host the Sublime Reef Madness Cruise in November.
Gaugh said more travel may already be taking shape for next year, including possible Australia and New Zealand dates, a Pacific Rim tour and another European run. He added that the shows have been selling out and that the new album could “blow the doors off people” once listeners hear the full record.
Even so, Jakob Nowell says this may be the last Sublime album he makes. He said, “Unless a child of mine wants to make another one one day, this is the last one I’m gonna make,” and described the project as an epilogue, a victory lap and a love letter to his father and the scene that raised him.
He added that his focus will now shift back to Jakobs Castle and SVNBVRNT Records, while still leaving room for a few Sublime shows each year. For now, Until the Sun Explodes stands as both a new chapter and, possibly, the final recorded statement from this version of Sublime.
