Artist:     Alexis P. Suter Band

Album:     Be Love

Label:     Hipbone

Release Date:     5.3.2019

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In one sense this release signals a retreat, but anyone familiar with Alexis P. Suter and her bandmates knows that “surrender” is not in their vocabulary. So, yes “retreat, no surrender.” When Alexis P. Suter and her force-of-nature baritone voice takes the stage, there is no stopping her. Hipbone Records is where the band’s members (vocalist Suter, background vocalist Vicki Bell, and drummer Ray Grappone) started. Following two releases on the American Showplace label with the blues-rocking Bennett Brothers aboard, Be Love seems to be about gaining new footing with a little experimentation too. The songwriting has always been a communal thing between Bell, Grappone and Suter. Now add guitarist and co-producer Michael Louis to the mix and the results are bound to be just a little different. With their seventh album, they’re more than entitled to try some new things.

Blues fans and festival goers should be familiar with Alexis P. Suter by now. The rocking, enormous power of Suter and her band is on full display with this release, one that captures the power of their live performances. The Brooklyn/Jersey based Alexis P. Suter Band that got their start at Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles, where they appeared 99 times. Alexis has since been twice nominated for Blues Music Awards in the Koko Taylor Vocalist of the Year and as Soul/Blues Vocalist.

With ten originals and two well-chosen covers, Be Love touches on betrayal, self-doubt, and introspection. The underlying message could be “stand up and be strong.” There’s not much gospel here and not as much blues rock compared to previous efforts but plenty of soul-blues. In fact, guitarist Louis channels his inner Steve Cropper a few times. The opener “Empty Promises” burst forth with as much energy as any track and is probably the closest to the sound from the two previous albums. Then the new fun starts. The playful “Lips, Hips and Fingertips,” a ’50s-inspired number that keeps an unrelenting groove which features horns, gorgeous guitar riffs, and soulful background vocals. “Little Black Rider” is an acoustic blues shuffle, a new approach for Suter, and “I Don’t See You Anymore” is soul. They completely transform Odetta’s “Hit or Miss” into a funk workout, proving they can do that, too.

However, “Go,” the Vicki Bell tune, has some moments but never really feels cohesive. Its beautiful melody and sweet effects give way at the end to standard blues riffs, making it seem like two songs or an incomplete one. In an odd way, it may have been better if Bell did the song herself as it never seemed to fit the Suter voice. The album ends with a “I Just Got Off that Devil’s Train,” a Wally Fowler gospel song performed more like a throwback old jazz tune from Carrie Suter, Alexis’ 96-year-old mother. It’s so vintage that it doesn’t really fit the rest of the material, but given that it’s Alexis’s mom, the inclusiveness gesture works.

Alexis P. Suter continues to bring powerful blues and soul, with just a touch of gospel. New guitarist Michael Louis has plenty of talent and it’s interesting to hear some experimentation. My bet is, though, that the next one will be more focused in the soul-blues mode, drawing on ’50s R&B and early Stax. Those are the ones that worked best here.

Alexis also sings with her Ministers of Sound band, which will perform at the Briggs Farm Sunday Gospel blues .

—Jim Hynes