Alex Warren is a 25 year old singer/songwriter, YouTuber & influencer from Carlsbad, California known for co-founding the Hype House collective of TikTokers. He eventually signed to with Atlantic Records in 2022 & wouldn’t drop his double full-length studio debut You’ll Be Alright, Kid until last summer. One of the most unpleasant listening experiences I had the previous year despite the hit single “Ordinary” embodying what the Billboard charts have become, so him coming back 13 months later for a sophomore effort until the beginning of fall next month unsurprisingly doesn’t raise my expectations or had me expecting a whole lot outta it.
“Emerald Eyes” experiments with disco to kick things off singing about hopes of this woman never letting him go whereas “Same Stars” hooks up some pianos asking “How the same stars over my head are the same stars from the night that you left?”. The 3rd single “Passenger” falls flat at a pop rock, dance-pop & new wave cut describing the feeling of helplessness in a 1-sided relationship just before the final single “Rescuer” blends alt-pop & folk pop thanking this female for pulling him out of an emotional darkness.
We get hints of gospel on “Cry Wolf” singing about a fire igniting in his veins whenever he hears someone mentioning an ex-girlfriend who wound up hurting him while the 2nd single “Fine Place to Die” depicts the apocalypse mixing adult contemporary & pop soul. After the “Are You Having Fun, Alex?” skit, “I Miss You More” sings about an individual in his life who’s been away for some time & pondering the idea of fathering a girl while “Only Thing Left” assures his partner they’re out of fight instead of love.
“Fever Dream” weakly fuses pop rock, pop soul & stomp & holler for a lead single inspired by his wife while “Won’t Go Back Again” emphasizes the stomp & holler elements singing about being done with setting himself on fire for the sole purpose of keeping others up. “Last Time” has somewhat of an Americana flare to it wishing he would’ve sooner realized he’d see this person for the very last time & the title track ends Wildchild singing about not letting this cruel world take our light away.
In a way, I can actually commend Alex Warren for experimenting a lot more throughout his 2nd album than his debut did regardless of me liking it no better or worse than what he dropped 13 months earlier. The adult contemporary, pop rock, dance-pop, stomp & holler, new wave, disco, gospel, alt-pop & folk pop production’s somehow more uninteresting than You’ll Be Alright, Kid & the songwriting still doesn’t do much of captivating me despite him trying to turn up the intimacy in his music.
Jorjiana is a 21 year old rapper from Michigan City, Indiana who came up in 2024 off her breakout single “ILBB2”. She would later sign to Atlantic Records the following spring & would release her debut mixtape Project 219 roughly 7 months later to moderate reception mostly due to the underwhelming selection of beats rather than the performances from her or the guests. Recently joining Buvision Entertainment whilst retaining her Atlantic contract, she’s continuing to prelude her full-length studio debut with an extended play.
“Talk” opens up with a bassy instrumental that includes a switch-up midway through letting her detractors know she could care less of their feelings whereas “Indiana 2for2” talks about entering her old money era even if the beat’s generally uninteresting. “I’m the One” embraces a rage-inducing vibe making her guy nervous because she loves money more than him & after “808-Wish” moodily explores the downsides of relationships, “Rich Finally” cloudily ends 5 Elements talking about achieving wealth.
Neither of the previously mentioned tracks that were both released as singles building up anticipation for 5 Elements blew me away, but I still gave Jorjiana the benefit of the doubt thinking the other 3 songs would make up for it & I unfortunately liked this EP less than I did her debut mixtape last Black Friday. She’s a capable performer but as I had mentioned, Project 219 lacked in the production department & a great deal of her Buvision debut’s beats remain dull.
Stella Lefty is a 24 year old country pop singer/songwriter from Winnetka, Illinois who happens to be the daughter of Groupon co-founder & Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky. She would eventually begin exploring a music career when her debut extended play last summer Tragic, Really last summer preceding a debut single the year earlier, but the lead single to this full-length studio debut “Boston” quickly became her breakout single this past spring following “The Kill” for the Scream VII soundtrack & signing with Atlantic Records to give Long Way Push wider exposure.
“Lean In, Kiss Me” sets the tone with this bland country pop intro singing for her lover to make out with here whereas “Whiskey” as somebody who enjoys the alcoholic beverage feels heavily reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s earliest material 2 decades ago to the point where it gets annoying. “Thinking ‘Bout You” delivers a middle of the road singer/songwriter track singing about getting intimate with her partner while “Ain’t Something I Do” goes country pop again confessing she’s falling for someone.
“Forever Guy” shifts away from country pop in favor of singer/songwriter again asking why she cries over a man who wasn’t meant to be in her life forever & once “Something to Lose” featuring Vincent Mason unites for an underwhelming lovey dovey country pop/pop rock duet, “Good at Leaving” emphasizes the country pop elements singing about being a product of too many heartbreaks.
The singer/songwriter-tinged “Summer You Were Mine” suggests they call it a fling for a reason after a relationship went cold with the seasons wishing things never changed between them while “Feel Better” asks herself when she’ll get out of this rut she’s in, which I can respectfully answer by saying if she makes any artistic evolution down the road. This derivatively uneventful debut at last finished with “Why Wouldn’t We?”, where Stella gives us 1 last Taylor Swift-esque country pop song making corny comparisons like being the laugh to my jokes or the lighter to your smokes.
Former commentator/in-ring performer for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE, analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay, host of The Pat McAfee Show also on ESPN & former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee still holds the bragging rights of having the absolute worst country album of 2026 when The Diary of a Polarizing Figure came out the week earlier & if I had to pick a close 2nd, Stella Lefty already reserved her spot with Long Way Home. The production’s obviously more country pop & singer/songwriter influenced than the bro-country subgenre McAfee embraced, yet there isn’t really anything special to me regarding her vocals & songwriting. Blatant industry plant/nepo baby ordeal on Atlantic’s part.
Canton, Ohio rapper & singer/songwriter Trippie Redd making his Atlantic Records debut with his double 7th studio LP. Coming up almost a decade ago off the first 2 installments of the A Love Letter to You mixtape series, the kid would continue to grow after dropping his full-length debut Life’s a Trip & then A Love Letter to You 3 the following year. However, the quality of his music started to take a nosedive given the mediocrity of both ! & A Love Letter to You 4. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Pegasus was a bloated mess & the Travis Barker-produced pop punk foray Neon Shark vs. Pegasus is barely better. Trip at Knight was ok & Mansion Musik took a step down in quality, releasing NDA after multiple delays.
“Merch It” begins with a decently cloudy intro talking about things & people changing except for him whereas “Yopstar” combines pop rap & trap likening himself to a rockstar. “Paperbag Boy”featuring Young Thug finds the pair over a rage-inducing instrumental talking about not needing any friends because all they have is themselves just before “V-12” maintains the hypertrap elements hoppin’ in a wide body & spending paper on his folks.
We have “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo being sampled during “Chanely” telling his partner he loves the way she walks & speaks leading into “Swagger”incorporating more rage beats talking about his girl fuckin’ with a real one. “Pourin’ 4s” produced by thr6x gets on some hazy late night vibes discussing his loyalty & fame while “Uncle Phil” featuring Young Thug reunites the 2 for a murky gangsta rap cut I liked more than the “Paperbag Boy” single.
“For Her” samples “I’ll Take Care of U” by the late Gil Scott-Heron atmospherically talking about a woman who’s possessive riding for him while “Free Melly” calls for YNW Melly’s freedom, who performs the hook. “Say What” has a moodier alternative R&B groove to it admitting that his intuition has been telling him to do shit differently while “Good Chance” featuring BigXthaPlug comes through mediocrely shrugging off those thinkin’ none of them are built like that.
thr6x returns behind the boards for “Can’t Believe It” talking about wishing ill on no one & people being unaware of the demons he’s seeing while “How Much X?” featuring Tory Lanez cooks with 10 trap phones together asking for the cost of ecstasy. “Meet the Redds” drew some controversy wasting an ATL Jacob beat on the opening line “Fuck these lame n****s, we gon’ lynch ’em like the Klan” while “Kidding Me” featuring 9 Vicious talks about pulling up with choppers.
“I Got Everything” was much salvageable than “Meet the Redds” looking back on having nothing & eventually over a boom bap-esque instrumental having it all while “Fine Shit” featuring Lil Wayne flips “Just Fine” by Mary J. Blige talking about how beautiful their respective lovers are. “No Way” takes a more sexual approach topically declaring himself a young Pootie Tang the way he slayin’ 3 hoes while “MTV” featuring Rob49 talks about killing entire jungles.
Ski Mask the Slump God appears for “Break It In” so they can get materialistic while “Slime Too” samples “Just for Now” by Imogen Heap talking about doing what he wants. “Pink Toes” hits us with a 2-parter Hitmaka cooked up looking to get sexually active but after “Switches & Fentanyl” featuring NoCap talks about hiding their emotions in their cup, “I’m Sorry Baby” finishes NDA with a public apology to Trippie’s baby momma Coi Leray.
“DontWaitForMe” starts the deluxe run talking about making way for the other side being the best high when it’s all said & done while “Wanna Fly Away” expresses his desire of leaving all the bullshit in his life behind. “Trillionaire Club” talks about possibly taking this shawty to the moon or the city assuring her she’s a star while “KingOfTheWorld” pretty much gives us an audio description of touring the globe.
Meanwhile on “Kiss the Ring”, some shots are being thrown at Coi Leray’s direction for not letting him shed their daughter when he cheated on her whilst she was pregnant with her while “Tuck Your Chain” talks about rollin’ in a Phantom outside of Atlanta with models & dancers. “Wanna Be a Trillionaire” opens professes of making $1T when Tesla CEO, Twitter owner, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk temporarily achieved that while “SVM3” talks about hoes being the same to him.
“No Rewards” becomes self-aware of this war he’s been at with himself & optimistically smiles through any shades of doubt cloud his mind although him dissing Coi again was an eye-rolling moment while “Keep Flying” talks about being stuck in space. “Being Myself” featuring Tezzus clarifies the only concern either of them have is staying true to themselves while “Plead the 5th” talks about feeding the streets & his team being all he knows, only having love for the money & his mother.
K Suave’s verse towards the end of “Med Kit” didn’t really stick out that much basically confessing their addiction to lean on wax while “Different Colors” talks about his Rolex watch coming in multiple hues. “Rock the Bed” featuring Gigi Holland samples “BedRock” by Young Money for a decent pop rap joint while “Emo Pop” recalls somebody stumbling in his room late at night. “YouDontReallyLove” talks about needing a place out in Malibu & the final bonus track “Miss My Dogs” remembers all of his homies who’re no longer here.
Part of the reason I get skeptical whenever Trippie Redd comes out with new music in is because of him bloating the Hell outta his last few albums amassing a large number of guests & mostly underwhelming production, which NDA feels like another addition to the pile. It’s unfortunate too because I really do think we could’ve gotten something greater if you took the best trap, pop rap, alternative R&B & rage moments from each disc & left all the filler on the cutting room floor.
This could potentially be the only studio album from Memphis, Tennessee rapper & songwriter Pooh Shiesty. Signing to Gucci Mane’s historic 1017 Global in tandem with Atlantic Records in April 2020 off the single “Main Slime”, he would later drop the Shiesty Season mixtape merely 10 months afterwards until serving a 3 year prison sentence. However, he’s dropping All Eyes on Shiest under 1017/Atlantic ahead of his upcoming trial for armed robbery & conspiracy to kidnap.
2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair gets referenced during the intro “I’m Back” talking about his return whereas “Federal Reality” ironically flexes burning his prison uniform when he’s likely spending the rest of his life back behind bars for being stupid.
“Reap What You Sow” talks about laying low & playing slow being the motto around his parts of town leading into “Last Man Breathin’” containing one of my favorite instrumentals from Mike & Keys despite him discussing the struggle of rapping & being caught up in the streets. “Collecting Tears” talks about stealing hoes & putting them up on game just before “Still on Timing” featuring Big30 speaks of stealing 2 different souls together.
Sexyy Red appears for the raunchy strip club anthem “Booty Club” produced by the late Tay Keith delivering another standout beat leading into “Reckless Living” wrapping up the 1st act of All Eyes on Shiest talking about him making his lifestyle vivid for people. “CMO” featuring Baby Slime, Big30 & K Carbon finds the quartet uniting for an underwhelming freestyle until “McLaren Truck” talks about him sticking up Gucci.
“Trip” hits us with more mediocre gangsta raps on top of a bland piano-driven trap instrumental but after “JPay & CorrLinks” talks about him not understanding why other artists be movin’ lame when he made a stupid move himself at the beginning of the year that could cost him his eternal freedom, “New One” featuring K Carbon reunites so they can declare themselves smackers who happen to rap over more hi-hats & keys.
The song “Bigger Than the Program” winds down All Eyes on Shiest’s final moments hoping to explain the difference between him & most other rappers being bitches while “F.D.O. (First Day Out)” talks about staying true to himself upon coming home although it quickly aged like milk 4 weeks later when he got arrested again. “Mane” featuring Glorilla sends off the album having both of ‘em poppin’ out with that dog shit because that’s the way both of them stunt.
I can’t even begin to express the disappointment I have for Pooh Shiesty holding Gucci at gunpoint in an attempt to get out of his deal only for All Eyes on Shiest to still come out under said labels like a dumbass, which makes the full-length even less enjoyable than the final product already is because he pretty much threw himself beck behind bars for the rest of his life over nothing. I truly did believe he had the most potential out of everyone on 1017’s revamped roster despite the features & production becoming less enjoyable than Shiesty Season.
Ravyn Lenae is a 27 year old singer/songwriter from Chicago, Illinois who broke out as a member of the 0 Fatigue collective. She would later sign to Atlantic Records & dropped 3 extended plays, including Moon Shoes as well as Midnight Moonlight & Crush. However, her full-length debut Hypnos alongside the sophomore effort Bird’s Eye have each contributed to her elevation amongst the most interesting R&B artists today & that was a huge reason for giving her 3rd studio LP a shot.
“Handle” produced by DJ Dahi opens up blending pop rock, the Minneapolis sound, new wave & alt-pop to sing about her love being more than the average person can typically put up with whereas “Familiar Dreams” confronts a person who’s become a stranger to her. “Never Let Me Go” feels like a cross between Hypnos & Bird’s Eye pleading for her partner not to leave her side until “In & Out” sings about the inability of letting this person she sees everywhere know how she feels.
Meanwhile on “Potential”, we have Ravyn suggesting she needs a break & declaring herself to be the one fucking with this guy’s head at night just before “Sew Me Back Together” sings about confessing to her lover that things get old real quickly when they’re not accompanying her. “Reputation” featuring Dominic Fike wraps up the 1st half of Blue Island portraying themselves as a dysfunctional couple leading into the final single “Saturday Night” combining freestyle, contemporary R&B, synthpop, chillwave & synth-funk singing about an ex missing her on a weekend.
“Babygirl” featuring Doechii continues the album’s 2nd act uniting for an R&B/hip hop crossover courtesy of Karriem Riggins reflecting on the risks they took in order to get in the positions they are presently but after “Barriers” yearns for a man who won’t run when it’s too deep including her suggesting he doesn’t back from showing any affection because she clearly came back for more, “Wish You Well” sends her final regards to an ex who can’t get her off his mind advising he moves on with his life & clarifying the breakup was to better herself.
The song “Bobby” has a more upbeat tone to it confronting our titular character regarding whether they should continue their relationship or end it right then & there while “Find It 1 Day” uses a composed rhyme to remind an ex of a love they fumbled except she’s making it clear towards the end that she still cares about this individual over a No I.D. beat. “Let Us In” takes up Blue Island’s concluding moments singing about getting emotional when the sun goes down, only to let it all out.
Marking a transitioning point in Ravyn Lenae’s career, Blue Island has me looking forward to what she & DJ Dahi can do going forward now that her ambitions have been redefined. The latter’s production maintains the primary contemporary R&B & pop influences of Bird’s Eye a couple years earlier including secondary elements of sophisti-pop, pop rock, new wave, folk rock, soft rock, synthpop, chillwave & synth-funk to explore the spaces between what once was & what could be.
This is the 8th studio LP from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter Charli XCX. who one might be remembered for her feature on Iggy Azalea’s biggest hit “Fancy” a decade ago. Her solo material would go on to step leaps & bounds beyond hers with highlights including her 3rd & 4th mixtapes #1 Angel & Pop 2 respectively alongside her 4th & 5th albums Charli & How I’m Feeling Now. Her final Asylum Records offering Crash was ok & brat under Atlantic Records quickly became an indie sleaze revival landmark, coming off the soundtrack of Wuthering Heights to drop Music, Fashion, Film.
“Rock Music” produced by A.G. Cook made for a polarizing lead single blending new rave, indietronica & power pop singing about departing from the EDM style in favor of rock whereas “SS26” fuses indie rock, alt-pop, pop rock, indietronica, slacker rock & post-punk revival critiquing art being commercialized beyond recognition. “Card Declined” splits itself into 2 distinct halves singing about the topic of materialism prior to the indietronica, alternative dance, alt-pop & pop rock single “Camera” finds herself considering pursuing an acting career.
Moving on from there, “2007” looks back at how far she’s come since beginning to make music 19 years previously combining elements of alternative dance & pop rock just before “I’m Afraid” discusses Charli’s engagement to George Daniel & gets confessional regarding everything she fears. “Yeah” might be one of the weaker moments partly due to it’s repetitive structuring although I very much understand the concept revolving around yes men while “Wink Wink” mixes pop rock, post-punk revival, power pop, new wave & dance-punk revival sings about people always changing.
“Persona” winds down Music, Fashion, Film’s final act advising for people to not let their egos choke them whenever she’s around them over a fuzzy guitar playing behind her while “Magic Metal Montana” shows some appreciation towards A.G. Cook, considering him to be her best friend & that he makes things easier for her whenever they’re in the studio. The closer “No One Lasts Forever” featuring a spoken word interlude & outro from David Cronenberg sends off the album singing about enjoying life now since every living being eventually dies.
Starting the deluxe run, “I Keep on Thinking ‘Bout You Every Single Day & Night” vents over someone who’s constantly on Charli’s mind with some synthesizers backing her while “Playboy Bunny” gives us the complete sonic opposite of “SS26” & letting her sassy side take control responding to the people who claim her output sounds the same by saying it’s because she made it herself. The final bonus track “If you take away the music then what has she got?” menacingly concludes with a repetitive chorus & post-chorus preceding a guitar solo.
I fully support the idea of Charli XCX making a complete stylistic departure for Music, Fashion, Film even if I wouldn’t put it in the same category as brat or How I’m Feeling Now or Charli amongst her most celebrated material. However, I’ll still put it above the Wuthering Heights soundtrack & even Crash compared to her other 2020s output. A.G. Cook’s production experiments with indietronica, indie rock, pop rock, slacker rock, alternative dance, alt-pop, new rave, power pop, post-punk revival, noise pop, new wave & dance-punk revival so Charli can get more introspective lyrically.
Manhattan, New York rapper SosMula enlisting Shadow Wizard Money Gang to host his 2nd mixtape. Coming up as 1/3 of the now defunct City Morgue alongside fellow emcee ZillaKami & producer Thraxx, they’ve released 2 full-lengths & an EP together up before branching out on their own for a little bit. Sos was the first to step up to the plate by dropping 13 Songs 2 Die 2, which was a bit of a disappointment in my opinion due to the features & production. ZillaKami followed it up a month later with HIS solo debut Dogboy & the duo reunited to drop Bottom of the Barrel the month after that, both of those I found much more tolerable. 2 High 2 Die was better than its predecessor & the Sleez Machine EP that fall was the worst solo effort of his yet. Signing to Limosa Nostra Records & Atlantic Records succeeding the divisive reception of his final Republic Records offering Sleez Religion, he made it out of Kamp Krystl Lake last Halloween & has dropped Yung Plane Krash hot off some mediocre teasers.
“‘Till the Last Star Dies” pledges his heart to the dark lord declares that he stands with the shadows over a trap beat with some 808s whereas the lead single “Running Man” talks a him dashing through the trap & the racks even if the instrumental still doesn’t blow me away. “Sportmode” embraces a ghostlier vibe about throwin’ bullets at car doors until “Flash Gordon” hits us with some of tight rhyme schemes despite more below average beats.
Moving on from there, “St. Peter” spends a couple minutes aggressively flipping birds at both Republicans & Democrats just before “Goodyear” featuring Ricky Hil finds the pair linking up so they can talk about maintaining legendary status when both artists eventually pass away. “Cocaine” hits us with a 3 minute freestyle recalling his days of selling crack prior to making music while “Bloodsport” featuring Lil Speedy reaches the halfway point talking about killing their opps.
“Bangout” cautions not to press him since he’ll pull out the stick & unloading clips over the course of the final single while the 2nd single “Krakk Star” featuring Rocket Rese references former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rampage Jackson in the midst of their coke-fueled bars. “Hiccups” featuring Lil Speedy reunites both of them chaotically dropping cringey lines like “Making bitches bleed like maxipads” while “My Face Off” talks about being a renegade.
Ricky Hil returns for the trap metal-infused “Hate Me” produced by Thraxx surpassing “Goodyear” to become their best collaboration throughout Yung Plane Krash while “Purified” keeps the heavy guitars & hi-hats coming talking about sacrificial scriptures of slaughter. “Chrome Spikes” featuring Dialryckx links up for a bilingual industrial trap song boasting of everything they own being chrome & the trap metal outro “Blood Bath McGrath” talks about wanting to see bloodshed.
I still maintain that Kamp Krystl Lake was a highly enjoyable Limosa Nostra debut for SosMula, but unfortunately I can’t say the same for Yung Plane Krash since I’d consider it to be his worst offering on the label thus far. The backend of it contains some of the hardest hitting tracks on the whole thing thanks to Thraxx’s production, which makes me hope that he’ll produce an entire album for Sleezy at some point whenever the timing’s right.
Mechanicsville, Virginia rapper diamond* making his official YSL Records solo debut with a brand new mixtape. A member of the ØWay collective, his full-length debut Nø Idøls last summer caught the attention of Young Thug around the same time he signed Tezzus & their eponymous debut as the Uy Scuti Bøyz a few months earlier was met with disappointingly mixed reception. The Resurrectiøn recently became Tezzus’ most celebrated material & Bling Slime looks to join the conversation.
“Man øn the Møøn” gets things going talking about being the flyest artist his age in the room over some synthesizers & hi-hats whereas “Almighty Dølla” has a more hypertrap vibe instrumentally boasting his thick pockets & his refusal of backing down. “WYD2” produced by both thr6x & Zaan gives us a sequel to a 2024 single the latter also produced just before “4s” featuring Young Thug talks about pouring up Sprite with the guy over more rage beats.
Pz’ appears on “Hedis n Pelles” to energetically put dope in the pot & let it marinate leading into “GG” embracing a bit of a pluggier sound talking about rocking out shows. “Hørsebit” featuring Lil Righteous references the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s Big 5 pay-per-view events the Royal Rumble while the cloudy “3 Wishes” lets Sk8star handle a bulk of the rapping, likening himself to Derrick Rose in the 4th quarter.
“STFU” winds down the last few moments of Bling Slime talking about not beefing with anyone because his squad likes to spin over a hypertrap instrumental with a pitched vocal sample while “Burgers n Fries” featuring southsidesilhouette finds the pair promising to kill anyone who touches their chain, which is ironic because of the recent incident between che & 9 Vicious. “Matter øf Time” ends the tape talking about sticking to the script since it’s what got him here while “All Star” featuring Pz’ & southsidesilhouette starts the deluxe run linking up over a rage beat to tackle romantic topics.
Whyceg combines elements of both trap & plugg for “Ferrari” talking about fucking up anyone who touches his chain while “Splurge” featuring EA TJ links up over a Goxan instrumental flexin’ they been poppin’ shit since birth. “Tattøøs All Summer” featuring Pradabagshawty runs it back with Whyceg to talk about getting baddies tatted up while “Fucked Up” gets in his gangsta bag lyrically. “Sickø” talks about his whole team being fresh & the final bonus track “Møntreality” concludes with a decent freestyle.
Bling Slime to me seemed like it had the possibility of dethroning Nø Idøls but even if that album still does a better job at displaying diamond*’s artistic range, it’s a still worthy prelude to his sophomore effort Jubilee next month. The production’s a lot less experimental & cloudy, maintaining the elements of trap along with rage & plugg. I also felt like a great deal of the guests other than an underwhelming selection or 2 delivered.
Sublime is a ska punk band from Long Beach, California now comprised of drummer Bud Gagh, bassist Eric Wilson & frontman Jakob Nowell. The trio’s 1992 debut 40oz. to Freedom & their eponymous 3rd LP under MCA Records would become some of the greatest material to come out of the fusion genre between 3rd wave ska & punk rock music although their sophomore effort Robbin’ the Hood wasn’t as positively received. 3 decades since the death of Jakob’s father Brad, they’re signing to Atlantic Records for their 4th & final album.
“Ensenada” begins with a reggae rock intro where Jakob’s singing about wanting to make love to a whore whereas “Wizard” instrumentally takes it back to their ska punk origins describing 7 years of darkness. “Can’t Miss You” pulls further inspiration from the reggae rock style cautioning not to trust his love because it’ll only go just before “Backwards” featuring FIDLAR makes a turn into ska punk turf once more addresses the problem with their friends.
After the “Maybe Partying Will Help…” interlude, “Favorite Song” featuring Skegss unites both parties so they can sing about the music they love the most sounding like shit to them now leading into “Personal Hell” fusing ska punk & hip hop recalls a man Jakob knew in a previous life. “F.T.R.” not to be confused with the record-tying 3-time AEW World Tag Team Champions & former ROH World Tag Team Champions of the same name sings about having a good feeling & keeping the positive vibes rolling.
“Evil Men” hooks up some bright guitar tones & some drums yearning to make love while “Trey’s Song” featuring Bad Brains frontman/guitarist H.R. finds the pair describing a situation where they’re in love with women who don’t feel the same way. “Casino Toarmina” has a more stripped-back feeling singing about wanting to take a Costa Rican woman home over some acoustics while “The Problem with That Is It Makes Me Stoked…” hits us with another interlude.
Kicking off the 2nd half of Until the Sun Explodes properly, “Gangstalker” gives off a more standard punk flare putting us inside the shoes of somebody experiencing paranoia while “Figueroa” treads the reggae rock waters once more singing about breakin’ his back doin’ the best Jakob can. “Froggy” tells the story of someone who everyone wanted to become friends with carrying over the reggae elements while “Come Correct” featuring G. Love & Special Sauce sings about acting accordingly around them.
“What For” makes it clear that Jakob only wants to be around this woman for 24 hours while “247-369” with my favorite feature Pennywise brings both SRH Productions representatives together for a punk rock headbanger. After the last 2 installments of the “Maybe Partying Will Help…” trilogy, the title track sings about Jakob owing his deceased father Brad his life & “Thanx Again” finishes Until the Sun Explodes showing gratitude for the band’s supporters.
I wouldn’t consider Until the Sun Explodes to be on the same tier as 40oz. to Freedom or self-titled by any means, but I’d put it above Robbin’ the Hood as the 3rd best in Sublime’s brief yet impactful discography without hesitation even if plans of blink-182 drummer Travis Barker originally producing it fell through. The production entertainingly combines alternative rock, 3rd wave ska, reggae rock, punk rock, ska punk, hip hop, dub & rap rock for a satisfactory epilogue to their illustrious career.
Legends Will Never Die 