Jump Leads
At first play, the eighth album by Fila Brazillia's Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry seems to have lost the invigorating flow of past records likeBlack Market GardeningandPower Clown. Arriving after the aromatic hip-hop, jazz, and dub of Fila's recent mix record,Another Late Night, the first half ofJump Leads, by contrast, sounds like one synth with only five presets working overtime. The tracks use similar jerking funk beats and cheesy '80s keyboard effects, creating a faux electro club sound. "Bumblehaun" and "Motown Coppers" bounce clumsily to the disco but are trumped by "Spill the Beans," which sounds like a drunken man frontingThe Commodores. The mood remains static until "It's a Knockout," which thankfully rescuesLeadswith an airy Brazilian groove,John Barry-ish harpsichord, trumpet flourishes, and an eerie African vocal sample. After the brooding "Monk's Utterance," the fun continues with soaring Afro-boogaloo vibrations on "Percival Quintaine" and a glowing African folk choir on the wondrous "Mother Nature's Spies." Not as overwhelmingly satisfying as earlier efforts,Jump Leadsextends FB's muse with mixed results.--Ken Micallef