In 1998, Philippine band
South Border, which utilizes a rhythm & blues touch, released its second album,
Bump. A major difference here is the appearance of Luke Mejares as lead singer, replacing the talented Brix Ferraris, who left the band to pursue a solo career. Also handling lead vocals is keyboardist Jay Durias, who composed nine of the album's 11 songs and arranged ten of them (technically, there are 12 tracks, but one is a short drum solo). Durias produced all 11 songs, and can be considered the prime force behind the band's sound. The departure of vocalist Ferraris could have signaled the end of
South Border, but new vocalist Mejares is up to the challenge, with perhaps an even wider range than Ferraris. The first
South Border album was mostly a drab affair, heavy on balladry that didn't produce many sparks. Unfortunately,
Bump is even more boring, again weighed down with tepid, slow-paced songs, such as "Praise Me," "Tulog" ("Sleep"), "Sa 'Yo" ("For You"), "For the Last Time," "Pilgrims" and "As You Go." There are three upbeat songs: "Bump," "Mr. Love" and a remake of
Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al." The two upbeat originals are fine and have relative moments of splendor, but are mostly notable for the fact that they are upbeat and thus present a welcome respite to the boring ballads. The remake of "You Can Call Me Al" is probably the best song on the album.