The House That Bradley Built - Compilation For The Nowell Family Foundation Fundraiser

The Nowell Family Foundation and LAW Records Announce

‘The House That Bradley Built’

New Various Artist Collaboration Album Due Out September 4th with LAW Records

New Album Will Help Fund Nowell Family Foundation Opioid Recovery Facility

Bradley’s House!

LAW Records, in conjunction with The Nowell Family Foundation, are due to release a very special compilation, The House That Bradley Built, on September 4th, 2020. The new compilation features never-before-released acoustic covers from the catalogue of Bradley Nowell’s band, Sublime, performed by 20+ bands. Profits from the record will go to The Nowell Family Foundation to build Bradley’s House, a rehab center in Southern California named after the late Sublime frontman Bradley James Nowell.

“Bradley James Nowell died of a heroin overdose on May 25, 1996. It was a devastating loss for his family, friends and fans,” comments Jim Nowell, Bradley’s father. “From this pain, came a burning desire to help others who battle with opioid addiction to overcome the disease before it takes their lives. That’s why we started the Nowell Family Foundation,” he states.

The Nowell Family Foundation has a mission to build and sustain Bradley’s House, a 6-bed opioid recovery center for economically disadvantaged and struggling musicians, and to offer free services while musicians recover. Jim “Papa” Nowell reflects, “The vision for Bradley’s House is to create a place of hope and healing for people in the music industry. A place where creativity can be an outlet for transformation. A place where passion can be a motivation for change. A place where music can be a source of strength.” With the new compilation, The House That Bradley Built, musicians donated their time and music to take a stand against opioid addiction and to help support those battling addiction.

Brad-Nowell

Sublime is one of my top three bands of all-time. “40oz to Freedom” is an incredible album and their self-titled album is as close to a perfect album that you can get. So, when the opportunity to write a review for “The House That Bradley Built” came up, I jumped at the chance. The way Sublime blended punk, ska, reggae, funk, hip hop and rock has always amazed and entranced me. When I was listening to Sublime as a punk 15-year-old kid in 1997, something resonated with me that will last me the rest of my life.

Back then it transported me to summer in Long Beach. I had never even been to California, but I just knew that’s what Long Beach sounded like. Through the music shone Bradley’s storytelling lyrics and his iconic voice. The House That Bradley Built has brought together a group of talented artists to pay homage to Bradley Nowell and raise money for a great cause. Each artist remains loyal to the original songs while still bringing part of themselves to the covers.

The House That Bradley Built is a twenty-five song compilation of Sublime songs covered by a multitude of artists. The songs chosen are a good mix of Sublime hits and some of the lesser known songs in their catalog. Even though everybody pulls a different aspect of the Sublime sound into their covers the album still has great flow to it. You can get lost in the album and even forget that you are listening to a different artist on every track. You can also really feel the love that every artist had for Bradley and the art Sublime created.

The Common Kings cover of “Garden Grove” does a great job of setting the table for the rest of the album. Other stand-out covers on the album are Pepper’s bluesy take on “Work That We Do”, Johnny Cosmic’s “40 Oz to Freedom”, and the HIRIE and Jason J’s cover of “Saw Red”. My favorite track on the whole album is Vana Liya’s “The Ballad of Johnny”. “The Ballad of Johnny Butt is admittedly one of my favorite Sublime songs to begin with but Vana Liya’s voice mixes beautifully with the arrangement of the song. G. Love’s cover of “April 29th , 1992” also has a more blues sound to it and the harmonica really adds to it. O.A.R. has a very honest and beautiful cover of “Bad Fish”. The Movement’s cover of “Get Out” is very fun and upbeat.

Through the release of The House That Bradley Built the Nowell Family Foundation is raising money to open “Bradley’s House” which will be an opioid addiction rehabilitation center.

I highly recommend the album to any fan of Sublime or even any of the artists that laid down a track for the album. Each track stands on their own as a tribute to Bradley which allows the album to flow as well as any album. It’s a great summer record that will have you feeling like you’re relaxing by the pool even if you don’t have one.

Reflecting back Papa Nowell says, “This compilation album is a tremendous gift from our friends at LAW Records. Their tireless effort and generosity are astounding. And the response from the music community has been overwhelming. We are so grateful to LAW Records for bringing together these talented artists to pay tribute to Bradley and help open the doors of Bradley’s House.”

He continues, “Bradley’s music lives on in the hearts and minds of his fans and fellow musicians. Through the combined effort of everyone who has been touched by his music, Bradley’s House will happen. People will be transformed. Lives will be saved. And it will truly be the house that Bradley built. Thank you all for helping to keep my son’s music alive.”

In advance of the new album, LAW Records will be releasing two singles every week leading up to the September 4th release date. The new records will be available digitally everywhere you stream music and also for the audiophile collector as a 180 gram collector’s edition record.

-Blake

The House That Bradley Built Tracklist