Until the Sun Explodes

In July 2025, Sublime released "Ensenada," the first single from what would become their first studio album in three decades. The song arrived with little warning, a sun-baked ska-punk track that sounded like the band had never been away. On June 12, 2026, Atlantic Records and Sublime Recordings put out the full album, Until the Sun Explodes. It is the fourth Sublime studio album and the first to feature Jakob Nowell on vocals and guitar, replacing his father Bradley Nowell, who died of a heroin overdose in 1996 at age 28.

Jakob Nowell has been clear about what this record is and is not. "The last Sublime record that will ever be made is Self-Titled," he told an interviewer. "There's no replacing history, period." He calls Until the Sun Explodes an epilogue, a tribute to the expansive works of Sublime. He also said that unless one of his children wants to make another one someday, this is the last Sublime album he will make. The band performed select shows including Coachella 2024 before announcing the album, and a single with Stick Figure, "Feel Like That," had already reached No. 7 on the Alternative Airplay chart.

The album was produced by Jon Joseph at Harbor Martyr Studios in San Pedro. Original Sublime members Bud Gaugh on drums and Eric Wilson on bass play throughout. Guests include H.R. of Bad Brains, Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise, G. Love, FIDLAR, and Skegss. The 21 tracks run 57 minutes and one second, blending ska, punk, reggae, dub, and rock in the band's signature California style. Jakob described the core sound as a California punk rock band that experimented with many genres, drawing from classic reggae and dub records from Jamaica as well as 1990s hip-hop from Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Critical reception was mixed. On Metacritic the album scored 49 out of 100. Pitchfork gave it 4.7 out of 10, writing that the listening experience felt like "scraping up the resin left behind by OG Sublime in the hopes of getting high" and concluding that "it's largely cashed." Kerrang! rated it 2 out of 5. More positive reviews came from The Arts Desk (4 out of 5) and Distorted Sound (9 out of 10). Paste gave it a C minus, and Sputnikmusic scored it 3.5 out of 5. [edit]