Jump Leads

Fila Brazillia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 23 Records UK
• ASIN: B000060OHT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,945 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bublehaun

2. Motown Coppers

3. Spill The Beans

4. DNA

5. We Build Arks

6. It's A Knockout

7. Monk's Utterance

8. Percival Quintaine

9. Nightfall

10. Mother Nature's Spies

11. The Green Green Grass of Homegrown

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bringer of turmoil, February 26, 2002

By 

Tom Douglas (Marlow) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jump Leads (Audio CD)

Fila Brazillia, being 2 guys from North-east England, present their eigth studio album.

Most acts dont get past one album, but not only are Fila heading for double-digits, they have done so with a beatiful suite of downtempo electronica sounds.

As you may have guessed already... I love Fila!

But I dont love this CD :-(

What went wrong?

Vocals.

Im not anti-vocal, far from it, but Fila *are* vocal-free downtempo electronica. They define the genre as much as Tosca do.

It has occurred to me during the 4 weeks I have owned this CD that it may be snobbishness. Would I feel the same about this CD if it was by another artist? After lots of reflection and listening, the answer is yes. This CD just doesnt click with me.

But it might with you. To give you some clues as to my Fila taste, I wasnt huge on "Old Codes, New Chaos". There were slightly too many samples for me. Kinda like vocals in the end. So if you 5-starred Old Codes, then you will probably like Jump Leads more than I do.

Not that its all bad. Im not handing out 4 stars out of loyalty. The vocals are only on 4 or 5 tracks. The instrumental tracks are worthy of any Fila release, but just when I get comfortable the vocals return. Maybe it the voice itself that is bugging me. Kid Loco's vocalistic "Kill Your Darlings" hits the spot wonderfully. Hmmm, I dunno. Turmoil.

So... to summarise:

- Its a mixture of classic Fila, and Fila doing *gasp* SONGS
- If you are a big Fila fan you are going to buy this CD anyway!
- If you are a casual Fila fan, then its more Old Codes than Maim That Tune
- If you are new to Fila and have stumbled across this CD, then I reckon you should buy a couple of older releases first. Try "Maim that Tune", "Power Clown" or "Touch of Cloth".

I will now return to my turmoil, and if I change my mind on this one, will let you know!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not their best, but still light years ahead of the rest..., May 27, 2002

By 

Cozmik Source "thesnappyrejoinder" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jump Leads (Audio CD)

This isn't exactly a dance LP. That is unless you go through life unassumingly munching disco biscuits and spontaneously start dancing whenever you reach a set of traffic lights, thinking you've made it to another club. I'm only giving this album 3 stars as it was a wee bit disappointing, and I still think Power Clown is the most enduring album they've done to date. At least they've changed their style a little on this release, with vocals (by Steve Edwards) on several tracks, showing that they're still moving forward after all this time.

The first track (Bublehaun) made me wonder if I'd been transported back to the eighties! I'm sure when the harmonica comes in it's the Eurhythmics! Very cheesy... I like that! FB have always had a sense of humour. Long may that continue. The second track (Motown Coppers) is more familiar FB territory, very snappy. The third track is Spill the Beans? What is this? Beth Orton's brother meets FB in studio kinda cloudy with guitars? After my initial shock I opened my mind real wide and relaxed in my chair... Ahhhhh! It's well done and shows how far FB have progressed musically. Track 4 (DNA) is an instant hit! Beautiful guitar work, weird reeds and some neat changes. Track 5 (We build Arks) has to be my favourite just for the wacky lyrics. We build Arks?! Is this a reference to shipbuilding? The mention of Molocks? H.G. Wells? Too many drugs? I'll let you decide. Track 6 (It's a Knockout) is very jazzy with a world-muzak undercurrent. That is until the electric piano comes in! Very twee! Track 7 (Monk's Utterance) and we're back on familiar territory. I love the way they have treated some of the percussion with delay and reverb, other than that it's a bit of a filler. Track 8 (Percival Quitaine) is upbeat, disturbingly indie, skanking and more great guitar, almost Space Rock or is that Hull Rock? Track 9 (Nightfall) is another vocal excursion, a bit disjointed, but it does contain the sample "Fussing and fighting" taken from Jah Stitch's "African People (3 in 1)" so I'll give 'em credit for that. Track 10 (Mother Nature's Spies) is another worldly-feely track, but it's not brilliant. Track 11 (The Green Green Grass of Homegrown) rounds off the LP on a great note, more vocals courtesy of Mr Edwards and shows that folk music is still alive and well in Hull!!

All in all a good purchase, not their best, but then again it's still on my play list, I guess only time will tell...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They Build Arks [and Sound Parks], April 24, 2002

By 

"ramdumb" (Ottawa, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jump Leads (Audio CD)

After listening to Solid Doctor, Fields of Abraham and almost all of Fila Brazillia's albums this is a pleasant surprise and yet a natural one. One has to hold this effort in the same iconography as when Steely Dan released "Aja". A departure from a trademark sound that had gained them their initial notoriety, disappointing the less discerning listener yet opening a whole new vista of creativity and appreciation.

How many beats and synth lines can one band deliver? How much orchestral maneuverability does the genre enable? As it stands, each Fila album has it's own distinct flavour and this one is no different and yet...it is. It had to be - to justify their musical integrity - who wants to "expect something" from an amazing band? Jump Leads seems to be the culmination of inspiration from working/producing/writing with Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs for the gorgeous Twilight Singers album of the same name. Reflective with a narrative edge. Yearning and transcendant. But that's a different space...different groove. This just alludes to and mines the sentiment...

But this is Fila Brazillia and they offer their trademark sounds in abundance and allow vocals to give it all a human edge. The vocals add warm punctuation and soul emphasis to what could be just another mid-tempo funkfest. It opens up their possibilities for the future and veers them away from stagnation. There's such a huge (expensive!) back catalogue of the beats they've perfected, if they didn't release this album exactly as it is - i would've been disappointed.

A wonderful, optimistic, fully rounded, clever and warm release from the best kept secret in music...