Fila Brazillia ‘Jump Leads’
March 27th, 2002 by freddie96
FILA BRAZILLIA
Jump Leads
(Twentythree)
A new album from the Filas is always extremely welcome. You know that you’re in for lots of warm basslines, soulful rhythms and an overall sense of wellbeing. On all three counts ‘Jump Leads’ doesn’t disappoint. And it does have a few surprises up its sleeve too.
Most notable amongst these is the inclusion of four tracks with vocals from Steve Edwards. You may well have heard ‘Spill the beans’, their recent single, and in this context it sounds better than ever. With its bluesy guitar, Washington Phillips’ sample, and mournful vocals, this marks a real departure for Fila Brazillia. On its appearance last November Pete Lawrence dubbed it ‘modern spiritual’, which as good a way as any of describing its feel.
Amongst the other vocal tracks, ‘We build arks’ might be a bit missable, but the long and dubby ‘Nightfall’ is gloriously eccentric (‘Did you ever see calcium from your behind?’), and ‘The green green grass of homegrown’ is a fine old-fashioned closer, all strummed guitar and harmonica. Listening to these tracks, there’s a definite sense of Fila Brazillia feeling their way towards a new, as yet unnameable, direction. Since it involves a lessening of the electronic side of their work in favour of a warmer, more traditional sound, I wouldn’t be surprised if these parts of ‘Jump Leads’ make better sense live.
The remaining seven tracks are all exactly what you would expect – classic Brazillia instrumentals, for the most part in the vein of their ‘Powerclown’ LP. It’s hard finding the words to do justice to the peculiar hybrid of sound and texture these involve. ‘It’s a knockout’, for example, has a Latin edge to it, with some lovely Hammond organ thrown in, creating a curiously electro-folky effect. Most retain that improvisatory, somewhat ramshackle feel in which it is the unexpected small touches that compel rather than the overall tune. A reviewer’s nightmare to describe but a listener’s delight.
Overall, however likeable this album undoubtedly is, you might feel that this isn’t quite the very best Fila Brazillia are capable of. Yet this is ever the way with them – you could certainly say the same about their last three albums (although ‘A Touch of Cloth’ was a real grower). The truth is, if you are a Fila Brazillia fan, you are likely to enjoy spending time with their albums simply for the comfortable, open-minded and very human atmosphere they conjure. One day, perhaps, Steve Cobby and David McSherry will gather together all their multifarious skills and produce the drop-dead classic album they probably have in them. But even if they never do, there is plenty of pleasure to be gained from following them along their own particular road. It always has the most unexpected twists and turns…
Freddie B.
