Sublime’s latest chapter continues to make a major impact at alternative radio.
The Long Beach band’s “Until the Sun Explodes” has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, giving Sublime another chart-topping single with Jakob Nowell fronting the group alongside founding members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh.
The achievement follows the success of “Ensenada,” the first fully original Sublime song written and recorded with Jakob as the band’s lead singer and guitarist. Released in 2025, “Ensenada” spent eight consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart, becoming the longest-running chart-topper in Sublime’s history.
Together, the two singles demonstrate that Sublime’s current success extends beyond nostalgia. The band’s classic catalog remains a foundation of alternative radio, but listeners and programmers are also responding to the new music being created by Wilson, Gaugh and Jakob Nowell.
For Skratch N Sniff, the achievement carries additional significance. Sublime have always represented the kind of boundary-free music at the center of the nationally syndicated radio show. Their sound pulls from punk, reggae, ska, hip-hop, dub and alternative rock without settling into a single category.
That approach remains intact on “Until the Sun Explodes.” The title track balances the familiar looseness of Sublime’s music with the perspective of a band moving into a new generation. Jakob’s performance does not attempt to recreate his father Bradley Nowell, but it does engage directly with the history he inherited.
The song was written as a deeply personal tribute to Bradley and as an acknowledgment of the role Sublime’s music has played throughout Jakob’s life. That emotional weight sits beneath a track designed to feel immediate, melodic and unmistakably connected to Southern California.
Its arrival at No. 1 also adds momentum to Until the Sun Explodes, Sublime’s first new studio album in 30 years. Released June 12 through Atlantic Records, Regime Music Group and SVNBVRNT Records, the 21-track project brings the band’s history and present-day identity together without treating the new lineup as a replacement for what came before.
Instead, Jakob has described the album as an epilogue and a thank-you to the fans, his father and the Southern California community that helped shape the band.
That sense of continuation is central to Sublime’s return. Wilson and Gaugh remain the rhythmic foundation of the group, while Jakob brings his own songwriting, energy and perspective to the role of frontman. The chemistry has introduced Sublime to younger listeners while giving longtime fans an opportunity to hear the band’s story move forward.
For Skratch N Sniff, it is also a reminder of Sublime’s lasting power at radio. Nearly three decades after songs like “What I Got,” “Santeria” and “Wrong Way” became alternative staples, the band is once again reaching the top of the format with new music.
“Until the Sun Explodes” reaching No. 1 does more than add another achievement to Sublime’s history. It shows that the band’s next generation is not simply revisiting its legacy. It is actively expanding it.
