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![[Off The Record]](/images/boston/music/offtherecord_header.gif){kind=small}
 Long Beach Dub Allstars WONDERS OF THE WORLD (DREAMWORKS)
Not long after Sublime’s major-label debut blew up in the wake of frontman Brad Nowell’s ’96 death, the trio’s remaining members (bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh) re-emerged with a new seven-piece band, Long Beach Dub Allstars. On the follow-up to their ’99 debut, Right Back (DreamWorks), the Allstars continue to experiment with Sublime’s upbeat fusion of pop punk and lite-reggae — with increasingly eclectic results. They get help from Black Eyed Peas MC Will.I.Am and Top 40 production team Oliver Leiber and David Gamson on " Sunny Hours, " a positive-thinking rewrite of Sugar Ray’s " Fly " with a sticky-sweet chorus that’s lusher than anything Sublime ever did. Melody takes a back seat to groove on the rest of the album, which isn’t such a bad thing for a group whose reputation rests on their rhythm section. And these guys groove all over the place, delivering everything from screeching punk ( " Every Mother’s Dream, " " No Way " ) to mellow bohemian hip-hop ( " Life Goes On " ) to a deliriously raw dancehall reggae blowout ( " Talkin’ the Truth " ). They sound most like Sublime on " Lonely End, " a poignant meditation on mortality that’s intended as a tribute to Nowell. Give or take the disc’s few aimless stoner diversions, the Allstars have once again done their departed friend proud. (Long Beach Dub Allstars headline Avalon this Friday, September 28. Call 617-423-NEXT.)
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