Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
What some might see and react to as the voice and sound of the discontent and filled with drama, is actually the conscience of the honest and trusted being spoken with clarity of thought, an ethic, an integrity, by definition those who seek to stop others from reaching their Breaking Point because it is morally right to stem the pain inflicted by the unfeeling and morally bankrupt on those who cannot defend their soul from the constant attacks and mind games employed by lesser people.
Breaking Point is that fine line between the state of mind that should not be ruptured, that should not be violated, and when used as a weapon in the wrong hands it is a declaration of war that is offensive and cruel. However, it is a place where the wisdom of words and the fight back against tyranny can also be seen as the marking of society attempting to heal itself.
For British band Jump, the frankness has always been there, across a mountain of albums, through a series of outstanding music, the desire to see a story being brought to life, through the observation of witness, and the sheer act of humanity that is sought in us all. They have pushed at the ills of society, have made compelling argument in humour, passion and direct criticism, and constantly remained faithful to their cause, a brutal defiance to those who would be faithless when backs are against the wall, and by doing so their threshold is one that punctures the pomposity and two-faced superciliousness of the arrogant and deceitful.
Breaking Point is the latest line in the defence of the broken, the verbal and musical punch to aid the soul of the damaged, and across tracks such as the opening salvo of The Heroes and The King, what comes across is an adventure in sound that has memories of Rush and David Gilmour sown through them, and the remarkable sense of time that was once captured by arguably Wales’ finest poetic son, Dylan Thomas; a scenic route through the lives of what others might consider unimportant, but which is in reality vital, significant, principled.
We reach breaking point, not because of weakness, but because of other’s who demand the absolute, who crave dominance and power, and as songs such as The Voices, The Parade, and The Widow make their entrance, the versatility and strong moral ethics of John Dexter Jones, Steve ‘Ronnie’ Rundle, Steve Hayes, Mo, Andy Barker and Mark Pittam don’t just shine through, they break down the walls of what is wrong in today’s world and confront the beasts who wreak havoc, who take pleasure in pushing people to their limit.
Albums come and go, a few remain with you, some give you pleasure, a handful give you the capacity to keep fighting, rarely do you find one that encompasses all. It is testament to Jump that Breaking Point is one of those select albums.
Ian D. Hall