Sublime (album)

Sublime is the third studio album by American ska punk band Sublime. Produced by Paul Leary and David Kahne, the album was released on July 30, 1996, by MCA Records. It is their first release following the death of singer Bradley Nowell and is the final studio album to feature him. By the time it came to record their major label debut, Nowell had been struggling with a heroin addiction. Sublime was recorded over a period of three months in Austin, Texas, in sessions characterized by heavy drug use and raucous partying. The album's musical style contains elements of punk rock, reggae, and ska, as well as dancehall, hip-hop, and dub music, with tempos ranging wildly. Nowell's lyrical subject matter relates to relationships, prostitution, riots, and addiction. Nowell died due to a heroin overdose in May 1996, just two months prior to the band's major album release, which led to the band's dissolution. Bolstered by numerous hit singles, among them "What I Got", "Santeria", and "Wrong Way", the record proved to be enormously successful, despite the band being defunct and thus not able to promote the album through touring. It sold over five million copies in the United States by the end of the decade, and it continues to be a popular catalog album, being certified Diamond by RIAA in 2026. The album was released during the third wave ska peak, and etched Sublime into a permanent place among the stars of the 1990s. Critical reviews were positive, praising Nowell's songwriting ability and the album's musical variety. Sublime has since been listed as one of the most well-regarded albums of the 1990s by Spin and Rolling Stone.