It's been fifteen years now since Sublime singer Bradley Nowell died – just weeks before the band's breakthrough self-titled album was released. Think aout that for a second; think about the series of events and the amount of time between albums. It's entirely possible that there are college graduates walking around now who remember hearing songs like “What I Got,” “Santeria,” “Date Rape” and “Smoke Two Joints” blaring out of their big brothers' while they watched Barney and Friends or Thomas the Tank Engine. It's a little weird if you look at it that way, but remarkable when you realize too that there are still kids discovering and holding reverence for those songs now. It feels awkward to say it, but Sublime really did hit upon something timeless before everything went wrong. That exciting, timeless vibe returns immediately as Yours Truly – the band's first album of new material from Sublime with new singer Rome Ramirez under the legally satisfying name Sublime with Rome – opens and recalls the sunshine and barrio bliss that the band turned platinum in 1996.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, “Is it really that easy to pick up where Sublime left off over a decade ago?” Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but it can't be an accident that Yours Truly comes as close to the sound of Sublime's old glories as it does. A tremendous amount of care has obviously been taken to recapture the vibes which got dropped back when; Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary is back in the production chair for Yours Truly just as it was in '96 and the band's hybrids of punk, reggae, dub and hip hop remain in place – vivid and untarnished. Further, there is no mention or hint at the events which occurred fifteen years ago and took the band off the market anywhere in this run-time; here, the focus sticks to the band's good-time strengths and doesn't get too personal. Songs like “My World,” “Murdera,” “PCH,” “Take It Or Leave It” and “You Better Listen” all dig deep into the reggae and punk spirits that Sublime won fans with on 40 oz. To Freedom and Sublime but don't make a mockery of them by clinging to the old themes and images that those albums conjured – if anything, it could be said that they pay some respect to them and carry on with them without creating some same-y songs.
Even with that knowledge in hand though, it won't stop longtime fans from scrutinizing Ramirez' vocals. He is the new kid on the street so he's going to get hazed the worst but, to his credit, the singer doesn't hang back or lean on founding members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh. He stands up proud to live or die here and, by injecting a little added soul influence into his performances, ends up proving that he actually has a stronger voice and a wider range than Nowell was ever given to employing; fans stuck in their ways will be loathe to admit that, but thy won't have a choice because they can hear it for themselves.
With those sounds locked down and with the singer in a solid state here, some fans might be stricken with a bit of guilt as they listen to Yours Truly. The natural inclination is to “hate the new guy” in some sort of misplaced sense of respect for tradition, but that doesn't hold up for long here. Yours Truly is a record that is respectful of the past in its own way, but doesn't remain chained to it and doesn't deliberately try to jump to another sonic place completely for fear of burning the structures that the band already built. Yours Truly is just a real record; it's good and solid work that doesn't run from its own past and is able to stand on its own without worrying about just being dismissed as a “relaunch.”
Artist:
www.sublimewithrome.com/
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Download:
Sublime with Rome – “Panic” – Yours Truly
Album:
Yours Truly comes out on July 12, 2011 via Fueled By Ramen. Pre-order it here on Amazon .
