Thirty years since their last album, SoCal legends Sublime are back with Until The Sun Explodes, and late frontman Bradley Nowell's son Jakob taking up the mic. As he says, none of it's been easy. "It took me a long time to even get to a place where I could handle something this emotionally taxing."
Entering the family business isn't always easy. Jakob Nowell was 11 months old when his father, Bradley, the singer-songwriter of California ska-punks Sublime, fatally overdosed on heroin in 1996. Just over a month later, Sublime's third, self-titled album – their first on a major label – was released, going on to sell almost seven million copies.
Three decades later, Sublime are back, with Jakob taking up the reigns and backed by the band's original members, bassist and percussionist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, for their first new studio album in 30 years, Until The Sun Explodes.
Sublime's commercial success was initially powered by hit singles such as What I Got and Doin' Time. On the surface, these were radio-friendly tales of breezy SoCal stoner life, but a deeper look into the lyrics reveals Bradley's ongoing mental health issues and struggles with addiction. That he was a gifted storyteller with a knack for a tune seemed to obscure his troubles to the casual observer.
While Sublime's legend grew in Bradley's absence, the band's legacy became a mass of contradictions. Their platinum-coated crossover record was the culmination of several years' hard graft on the underground punk circuit, during which time they self-released their scrappy, brilliant debut, 40 oz. To Freedom, and their leftfield second album, Robbin' The Hood, which featured everything from trippy dub loops to Saw Red, a dizzying two-tone duet between Bradley and Gwen Stefani.
This had the bifurcating effect of making Sublime casual MTV fodder for some and tape-traded oddballs to others. Particularly outside the U.S., where their albums were often unavailable through the usual channels.
"I think we [still] have our niche following and some broad alternative airplay appeal," admits Jakob. "It's getting bigger every day, especially with this new record."
Making Until The Sun Explodes was no easy task. Jakob dived into the band's archives, watching, listening and reappraising everything from old interview footage of his dad ("He'll always sort of seem deified to me… like a mythological figure, almost ageless") to unreleased jams, in a bid to create something that would do Sublime's legacy justice.
"[There were] jumping off points that then became their own, brand new compositions, so we had all that in the background," he says. "When we wanted to actually create the songs, it was all about, 'Let's just have fun, let's learn the book, and then burn the book, throw it all away, and try to go in authentically.'"
While the end result provided some catharsis – Jakob recorded a final, thank-you track, recalling the one on 40 oz. To Freedom to finish the project and admits crying when the album was finally complete – it could be argued that the weight of expectation is even heavier now that Sublime fans are about to hear the first new music from the band in three decades.
"It does take a lot out of me, tell you the truth," he says. "Doing this gig oftentimes feels like working at the family car dealership. It's a family business.
"Sometimes I hate that and that makes me feel ungrateful, but I'm so proud of this work I've done with the new record, and I'm so proud to be having a custodial role and keeping my father's legacy alive. Who doesn't want that for a lost loved one? But the fact of the matter is, it isn't my band, at the end of the day, it isn't something I want to be doing my entire life. I count my blessings, but I try to be realistic about it, too.
"Basically, it took me a long time to even get to a place where I think I could handle something this strenuous and emotionally taxing."
Like his father, Jakob has struggled with drug addiction, but has been sober for nine years now. Comparisons with his dad are, he acknowledges, inescapable, which partly explains his reluctance to lean into his legacy before Bud and Eric approached him about recording an album that forms part of several anniversary events, including an exhibition at the GRAMMY museum in Los Angeles and a travelling festival, Sublime Me Gusta.
"There's no winning that battle," he wryly acknowledges, when asked how he copes with trying to step out of Bradley's shadow.
"People are allowed to think whatever they want," he continues, "but as far as [some] people hoping they'll get like a reaction out of me, there's probably there's probably no reaching me through that avenue, because I'm not really sure how to even take it. I know that my voice is similar in ways and different in others. I know that there's no competing against a legend, so I try to just do as good as I can and act honestly and earnestly and give it my best shot.
"Looking at the work of some of my contemporaries who've joined pre-established bands and become a new singer, like in Alice In Chains or Linkin Park, we have to try to keep it authentic as much as possible.
"I try to learn how it was done before, and maybe use some of his techniques vocally, and then it has to go beyond just emulate. It has to be, you know, authentic and natural, so all these things are factoring into my performance, and it's a very demanding gig."
Thankfully, a new highlights reel is already taking shape, not least Sublime's recent appearances at Slam Dunk, which epitomised their ability to reach new audiences.
"It's been really cool seeing more young people come into these spaces and connecting with the music," says Jakob. "It proves that it wasn't just a moment in time, a flash in the pan.
"Some people listen to Sublime when they're a kid, smoke weed, grow out of it, and then associate it with this goofy stoner jock culture. But the people who stick beyond that go, 'No, wait, there's some real pain and struggle and human heart and conflict with itself, interesting stories, and some lore that runs deep here.'"
Until The Sun Explodes is released on 12 June via Sublime Recordings / Atlantic
