Still Lovin' You

What Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise dishes out on Still Lovin' You, to beg an unasked-for pun, is hardly surprising. It's more accomplished if unspectacular soul-rock, much in the style of his prior album, New Ground. The songs are sung with an engaging weariness, while the band stews together soul, roots rock, and bits of blues and funk to craft a 1970s-like soul sound, though more rock-oriented than much commercial '70s soul. "All I Wanna Do" and to a lesser degree "Still Lovin' You" are uncharacteristically slick, in a rather '70s sweet Philly soul way, and Bradley sounds more at ease with the more languid, down-home grooves. Some of his better efforts in that direction are "When You Love Something," which has a yearning arch slightly reminiscent of old soul staples like "When a Man Loves a Woman"; "Pretender," which has the sorrowful quality of some of the Band's work; and "Hollywood," in which a bluesy lope informs reflections on getting swallowed up by Tinseltown.