Published on Jul 9, 2019
Well, here we go, another Sublime With Rome record. At this point, they’re on their third record label and third drummer. At this point, they’re better off going with a different name and continuing their descent into white boy reggae rock hell. The album’s title track isn’t bad, but it’s because of Rome’s voice which is different enough from Brad Nowell to make some of their material stand out. It’s not bad and is sure to be found at plenty of beach BBQs this summer.
Four songs on the record came out last year on an EP that wasn’t that much of an effort, and it’s weird to see them here again, like they didn’t have enough material and had to pad the disc out a bit. The disc’s main single “Light On” sounds exactly like The Dirty Heads and is completely passable. It just doesn’t have any real strength and lends credence to the belief that people need to stop supporting this band just because they play the same ol’ Sublime tracks. Some of Rome’s lyrics really suck, especially on “Blackout,” where he details being hooked on Xanax.
“Wicked Heart,” another single, doesn’t have enough guts to make it interesting; it’s just weak and mediocre melancholic reggae riffs and lyrics about a bad girl that sort of suck. “Survive” is a bit more interesting, a little more upbeat with some nice horn splashes. Rome’s vocals, while at times a bit too much like Rebelution, still sounds strong here. “One Day At A Time” is another decent song, but the presence of co-vocalist Eddie Zuko gets some points docked for the annoyance of his vocals; still, Rome’s vocals here are really strong and interesting. Meanwhile, the less said about the electro crap of the closing track “Thank U” the better off we all are.
All in all, the fact that it takes Blessings four years to put out records while they continue to tour the hell out of Sublime’s classics should tell you all need to know about their descent. Hell, the disc never even charted on Billboard; so just throw this record in the fire and move on with your day.