Sublime with Rome – “Yours Truly”
Album Reviews | Aug 1st, 2011
Record Label: Fueled By Ramen
Genre: Ska/Reggae/Hip-Hop/Punk
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I want to start off this review by saying to all of those people that seem to be up at arms about the reforming of the Sublime crew and the release of this album; It’s not 1996 anymore. As I also recall, there were three members in the original Sublime…two of them are in this group. Get over it.
“Yours Truly” marks a new era in the sound that one can only describe as Sublime. Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, the two remaining founding members of Sublime have been playing music in one incarnation or another since the release of Sublime’s self-titled album a decade and a half ago. Whether it was the Long Beach Dub Allstars, Dubcat, Long Beach Shortbus or whatever side project they were working on, they’ve continued to play music in the Sublime “style” if you can call it that, and have always produced excellent music wherever they were or whatever they were doing. After much consideration and a legal struggle, they reformed under the Sublime moniker with a new lead singer that not only channels Bradley Nowell’s energy and vision but adds a youth and exuberance to a couple of old rasta punks.
All throughout “Yours Truly” you have that feeling that the songs on the album were somehow plucked from the mind of Brad Nowell’s spirit. What I love the most is that the new singer, Rome Ramirez; a lifelong fan of Sublime and the many genres that spawned their sound, doesn’t try to emulate Bradley. Rome adds his own flavor to the beats and his happy-go-lucky charm to the mostly upbeat tracks on the album.
Making your way through the album tracks, one will surely see the same scope of musical influences that have always been transparent on any Sublime release. “Your’s Truly” kicks off with a skankfest in my personal favorite track “Panic”, follows up with some mellow reggae grooves in “Only” and another standout track “Lovers Rock” and then just continues to keep you guessing what will come next throughout the remainder of the album. Classic Sublime no doubt.
Since the release only a few short weeks ago, I’ve listened to “Yours Truly” an unmentionable amount of times. I couldn’t stop listening to it enough to write this review but I made it work. I would easily put “Yours Truly” side by side with any Sublime album. Sublime was one of my gateways to the world of ska and punk back when I was a teenager and for any fan of Sublime, it would surely be your dream come true to be making new tunes alongside your idols. Rome Ramirez is doing just that and I’m jealous. For those out there that just can’t get over the “blasphemy” of the band using the Sublime moniker, it is truly your loss. Rome is a great musician, an extremely talented songwriter and deserves the chance to be heard. Quit being asses and just listen and you may hear a sound that has been missing from the scene for much too long. I, for one, am glad that it is back.
Bottom Line: No matter how you look at it, this is a Sublime album and that means that it flat smokes the competition
Notable Tracks: Panic, Lovers Rock, Murdera, PCH, Take It Or Leave It
Overall Rating:
