Hey Suburbia Records

Reviews:

The evolution of Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise since its fortuitousinception six years ago has been incremental externally but monumental internally.The transformation of Detroit’s Nehra brothers from the streetwise punk poppersof Second Self to the self-assured funk poppa rollers of the Blackwater Surprisehas been nothing short of amazing. And the metamorphosis of Robert Bradley fromhard scrabbling street busker to poised and focused soul wailer has been equallyimpressive. The Nehras’ love of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones as wellas the Stax sound and Bradley’s affinity for Otis Redding and Al Green allcombined to create a powerful blues/rock/soul triad that has become progressivelyunbeatable on its three successive albums.

The title of the Blackwater Surprise’s latest album says a lot in just twowords: New Ground. The Nehra brothers have departed the Surprise to takeon new challenges leaving only the soulful Bradley (and drummer Jeff Fowlkes)to represent the original concept. Without the Nehras’ flawless rock influenceas its bedrock, there is no question that the Blackwater Surprise’s formulahas been disrupted.

Fortunately, what’s left after the Nehras’ exit are Bradley’s exquisitesoul moves. The band that he’s surrounded himself with on New Ground is lessabout eclectic internal energy and more about matching Bradley’s soul popproficiency. While there are flashesof the old Surprise rock and soul hybrid(“Profile,” “See Her”) and plenty of familiar slippery funkpop nuggets (“Ride My Wave”), Bradley and the Surprise tend to smoothout some of the rough edges here that made the band’s first incarnation grittilyappealing. Still, there remains a powerful undercurrent of rock in Robert Bradley’socean of soul, and New Ground makes a potent case for his new Surprise.