Sublime Announces Limited Edition Liquid-Filled Reissue Of Self-Titled Album

Sublime’s 1996 self-titled LP is getting a limited edition vinyl reissue for its 30th anniversary. The “Paddle Out” edition of the album is a collectible 2LP pressing with a liquid-filled design that makes each copy entirely unique. It’s a fitting format for a band that became legends by hashing out a hybrid style all their own.

Order Sublime “Paddle Out” on Limited Edition Liquid-Filled vinyl here.

Sublime is a bittersweet success story. Released two months after frontman Bradley Nowell’s death, the album went on to become a generation-defining touchstone. It’s one of those releases on which every track feels like a well-worn classic, and many of them were fixtures of radio, MTV, and the Billboard charts. Lead single “What I Got” topped Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, while “Santeria” and “Wrong Way” both made it to No. 3. Though fourth single “Doin’ Time” topped out at No. 28 on Alternative Airplay, it became Sublime’s only hit on the all-genre Hot 100 singles chart, peaking at No. 87 in January 1998. The Sublime singles were in steady rotation on MTV all throughout the album’s promo cycle.

On some level, Sublime was an immediate commercial success, though it would become exponentially more popular in time. After debuting at No. 62 on the Billboard 200 and selling about 145,000 copies in its first two months on the market, the album continued to pick up steam for months and years to come. By July 1997, it had climbed to a peak of No. 13, ultimately spending 47 weeks inside the top 40. In the ensuing decades, it has remained a sales and streaming juggernaut. On July 31 of this year, to mark its 30th anniversary, the RIAA bestowed Sublime a rare Diamond certification denoting 10 million copies sold.

In a 2021 retrospective for The Ringer that billed Sublime as “a sprawling magnum opus of sunburned ska, punk, reggae, and stoner anthems,” critic Jeff Weiss opined on the album’s longstanding appeal. “As long as there are malls with PacSun and Volcom stores, as well as tiny surf shops worldwide, it will remain in rotation,” he wrote. “But whenever you try to reduce it to lifestyle music, there is always something more. Nowell was one of the truly magical singers, versatile enough to shift between hardcore mosh pit snarls to beatific reggae lilts, Spanish ballads, and melodic rap rants. His voice could be astonishingly tender and fragile or curl into a clenched fist.” He reserved praise for the other two members as well, noting, “The album is filled with small moments where Wilson’s and Gaugh’s virtuosity shine.”

Order Sublime “Paddle Out” on Limited Edition Liquid-Filled vinyl here.