Dunked in reggae narco-grooves and coated with SoCal swagger, Sublime's socially conscious, self-titled album captured the promise of this party trio. Unfortunately, it would be their last recording. Two months before its release, lead singer/chief songwriter Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose. What a loss. Throughout the album, broad strokes of "third wave" ska mix with swabs of dub, slashes of grinding punk, and spongy reggae. The band slathered on styles, scooping one on top of another to create new musical assemblages. The result: a unique sound that could sustain punk energy and dopey grooves equally. Lyrically direct, Sublime jumps from the profoundly mundane day-in-our-life diary of "Garden Grove" to love redemption on the infectious "What I Got" to progressive social concerns on songs such as the roots pulser "Pawn Shop" and the driving "Wrong Way." It's all feels like one big party, for which Nowell paid the consequences.
Track list:
1. Garden Grove
2. What I Got
3. Wrong Way
4. Same In The End
5. April 29, 1992 (Miami)
6. Santeria
7. Seed
8. Jailhouse
9. Pawn Shop
10. Paddle Out
11. The Ballad Of Johnny Butt
12. Burritos
13. Under My Voodoo
14. Get Ready
15. Caress Me Down
16. What I Got (Reprise Version)
17. Doin' Time (Uptown Dub-)