Customer Reviews

Jump Leads

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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...

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...

First off, I have to say that I disagree just a bit with the reviewer below. The vocal tracks, while being new territory for the Filas, are easily the standout tracks on the album; mainly because they veer sharply from the boys' tried-and-true formula. However, the amount of soul in Steve Edwards' voice is quite astounding, and once you get past the initial shock of hearing vox on a Fila track, his tracks are quite enjoyable...and the lyrics themselves are quirky enough to complement the Fila sound. My only problem with the vocal tracks is that they don't last nearly long enough..."We Build Arks" ends on a rather abrupt note, for example. I wanted to cry...
The best track on the album has to be "Nightfall", a 7+ minute featuring some of the best synth work the boys have done to date...and listen for the gorgeous strings about 5 minutes in. Again, the song kind of just ends, but it lets you down a bit easier than "Arks", and you'll have already hit the emotional peak of the song. As for the instrumental tracks...well, it IS a Fila Brazillia album...longtime fans will get what they are expecting. I particularly enjoyed track 8, "Percival Quintaine"...it closely resembles the style (especially the drums) perfected by another of England's finest groups, The Egg. The final track is a surprise, as it is an acoustic guitar/harmonica led tune, with more vox; a sublime ending to be sure. Jump Leads is a fine 8th album, especially considering the chances it takes...and it sounds like album number 9 is well on its way to being completed...and will take just as many chances as Jump Leads has. There are only a few groups around in ANY genre who can be as prolific without sacificing quality; Fila Brazillia remains at the top of that very short list.

*Yawn*

Another album from Fila Brazillia. Really, what can one say about the Hull duo? Like Roy Ayers, they create a tight groove, yet so often their music descends into looping banal muzak. Nine albums (including the exellent "Anotherlatenight" mix) into their career, and now they drop this, their tenth. "Jump Leads" is certainly the funkiest slab they've dropped in a long time; a throwback to 70's grooves (see the aforementioned Ayers, Herbie Hancock, et al) peppered with the occasional vocal appearance from Steve Edwards. It's a groovy, groovy affair with killer basslines galore ("Nightfall," "We Build Arks"), percussive filler (not altogether a bad thing), and even a country-tinged closer, "The Green Green Grass of Homegrown" (a possible Merle Haggard tribute? Erm...maybe). And no, Fila Brazillia have not lost their sense of humor. Simply scan the tracklisting and it's obvious the boys have their heads in the right place.

Fila's Jump Leads is absolutely excellent. However to comprehend it, you'll definitely need a large musical background. You have to have a grain of that old notorious British sense of humour as well to really enjoy this album.

It's amazing - a mere delight to your mind and senses. Truly complicated and at the same time easy to listen to. It's an enjoyable labyrinth of sounds and tunes you feel you know from somewhere else. Fila Brazillia are truly great jugglers. There are many melody and rhythm 'winks' to a good number of fellow musicians. I could not but smile when recognized FB's picking at Lenny Cravitz, Air, Plaid.

The texts may give a pretty good time too. The drumbeats, basslines, synths and strings are really exquisite.

Though there is practically everything in this album, Fila manage to hold it their style - smart, slightly hushed, mild and moody.

One of the rarest treasures for the mind music searchers.

If you like jazzy electronica as I do then you will probably enjoy this CD. It is not exactly ground breaking work, or earth shaterring music that will leave you stunned but it is good enough. It is one of those change of pace discs in the rotation where the skip button might be used; in other words not every track is a winner. Let's be honest, what one person likes is not necessarily what another may like. If the vocals don't appeal to you there are enough dreamy bits of music to set your mind floating into the neither neither land of audio bliss. Some of the music sounds dated but most of it is revitalized to create a modern ambience that is a laid back groove. This is the type of music that flows through you and then suddenly grabs you with some imaginative musical passages. "DNA" is one such track where the unassuming sythns suddendly are highlighted by world beat tribal like vocals that grab your attention and make you listen closer. "We build arks" is a bit of soulful singing that has an acid jazz feel and works remarkably well for my tastes. The said song has a retro feel, sort of a Earth Wind and Fire revisted. Another song with vocals is "Nightfall" and it has a trip hop jazzy feel that compliments the soulful vocals that are quite pleasing. The instrumental songs are dominant throughout (7 of 11 tracks) and sound even better with headphones to catch all the little details of the studio. The last song on the disc, entitled "The Green Green Grass of Homegrown" sounds a little country, almost folkish, complete with harmonica and accordian and is a rather odd song to include on the disc but somehow works as a fitting ending to a disc of mixed variety. All in all it is a pretty decent CD, not a complete musical statement but rather a fragmented album with hits and misses. Not exactly the place to start with Fila Brazillia but it does showcase the diversity of these two musians and programmers.

This is by far the best album FB have put out to date. I've been into FB for years now, and although I've been a fan of their past stuff, I became a fanatic after hearing this CD. Yeah, its different than other music they've put out, but I'd say its an incredibly genius mix of the FB sound and Heights of Abraham. How many other albums are funky and soothing at the same time? I listened to it two times in a row (something I never do) right after I bought it. And I had other new CD's to listen to at the time!!

This is not your typical Fila Brazilla CD, it has two distinct halves, niether have the familiar Latin flavored beats that FB is famous for. The first "half" are dance-type tunes and the second part is very laid back, jazzy and bluesy. I loved every minute of it. I am glad that there are music groups out there that don't keep churning out the same thing over and over again. You should be too.

The fact that this album veers from what we who have been following Fila Brazillia's work would consider their "signature sound" is good. That's the part that I have to keep reminding myself. It's important for all artists to grow, as it is for their fans to allow them to grow. That said, there have been times in which this sort of blind faith could not extend beyond my personal taste and I have been disappointed in the past (The latest effort from Air comes to mind.). With this release, Fila Brazilia manages to build on their own style rather than shift it and that is a credit both to them and to their integrity as musicians.

The album reflects the musical direction of recent releases from artists like Charles Webster and Waldeck more than Fila Brazillia's last studio effort, "A Touch of Cloth". That's not to say that "Jump Leads" is not good. It is. In fact, it's very good. Check it out...