Ensenada (song)

"Ensenada"
Cover art for "Ensenada"
Single by Sublime
from the album Until the Sun Explodes
ReleasedJuly 18, 2025
Recorded2025
StudioHarbor Martyr Studios (San Pedro, California)[1]
Genre
Length2:34
Label
  • SVN/BVRNT
  • Regime
  • Create[3]
Songwriters
ProducerJon Joseph
Sublime singles chronology
"Garden Grove"
(2025)		 "Ensenada"
(2025)		 "Until the Sun Explodes"
(2026)
Music video
"Ensenada" on YouTube

"Ensenada" is a song by American ska punk band Sublime. It was officially released on July 18, 2025, as the lead single from their fourth studio album Until the Sun Explodes (2026). It is the band's first fully original single under the Sublime name since 1997's "Doin' Time" and features new lead vocalist Jakob Nowell, the son of founding frontman Bradley Nowell, who died in 1996.[5]

"Ensenada" became Sublime's first radio hit in almost 30 years, reaching the number-one spot on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, which the band last achieved with "What I Got" in 1996.[6] It is their longest-lasting No. 1 song, surpassing the three weeks spent by "What I Got" at the top, and broke the record for the greatest amount of time between No. 1 singles by one artist on the chart, with a gap of 28 years and 10 months.[7] Spending 28 weeks at No. 1 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, it broke the record for the most weeks at No. 1 previously set by Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" in 2013.[8][9]

Composition and lyrics

The song is about a man who breaks up with his girlfriend in favor of prostitutes, with the chorus lyric "I don't want to be your man no more, I want to make love to a whore."[10] Pitchfork wrote that Jakob Nowell and his father are the only two musicians who could draw pathos from that line.[11] Jakob Nowell said that the lyric was not meant to be taken literally and represents "feelings of wanting to detach from reality," also noting that the band wanted to make themselves laugh by writing funny lyrics for the song.[12]

Critical reception

Margaret Farrell of Stereogum described "Ensenada" as sounding "like classic Sublime," calling it a "liberating sleazeball summer anthem".[13] The Daily Nexus opined that the single was "already a quintessential Sublime track: fun, irreverent and a little unfinished."[14]

Music video

The music video for "Ensenada" showcases the band at various live performances intertwined with clips from studio sessions and depicting images associated with Sublime, including the Sun logo and an inflatable figure resembling Lou Dog, the Dalmatian owned by Bradley Nowell and a mascot for the group. As the song closes out, a photo of an infant Jakob Nowell being held by his parents is displayed.[15]

Charts

References

  1. ↑ Irwin, Corey (June 26, 2025). "Sublime Announce New Single 'Ensenada'". The Pier. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  2. ↑ Serra, Maria (July 18, 2025). "Sublime Kicks Off New Chapter In Their Career With 'Ensenada'". idobi.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  3. ↑ Iahn, Buddy (September 15, 2025). "Sublime scores first chart-topper in nearly 30 years". The Music Universe. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  4. ↑ Uitti, Jake (July 18, 2025). "'My Dad Was One of the Best Singers and Guitar Players of All Time': Jakob Nowell Talks Sublime and New Single 'Ensenada'". Vice. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  5. ↑ Sterling, Scott (July 18, 2025). "Sublime Release New Single 'Ensenada': Stream". Consequence. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  6. ↑ Rutherford, Kevin (September 12, 2025). "Sublime's 'Ensenada' Is No. 1 on Alternative Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  7. ↑ Irwin, Corey (October 8, 2025). "'Ensenada' Is Now Sublime's Biggest Radio Hit". The Pier. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  8. ↑ Trust, Gary (January 27, 2026). "The Songs With the Most Weeks at No. 1 on Every Billboard Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Sublime Chart History (Rock & Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Sublime Share "Ensenada" From First New Album In 30 Years". stereogum.com. July 18, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  11. ↑ Garner, Sadie Sartini. "Sublime: Until the Sun Explodes". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  12. ↑ Uitti, Jake (July 18, 2025). ""My Dad Was One of the Best Singers and Guitar Players of All Time": Jakob Nowell Talks Sublime and New Single 'Ensenada'". VICE. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  13. ↑ Farrell, Margaret (July 18, 2025). "Sublime Share 'Ensenada' From First New Album In 30 Years". Stereogum. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Tracks of the Month: October 2025". Daily Nexus. November 12, 2025. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  15. ↑ Irwin, Corey (July 19, 2025). "Sublime's 'Ensenada' Music Video: Breaking Down the Footage". The Pier. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Canada Mainstream Rock for the week of October 18, 2025". Billboard Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Canada Modern Rock for the week of October 18, 2025". Billboard Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Sublime Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Year End Charts 2025: Canada Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Year End Charts 2025: Canada Modern Rock". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Rock & Alternative Airplay Songs – Year-End 2025". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
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