Only a handful of rockabilly acts have reared their pomade-smothered heads on the Seacoast in recent years. Satan’s Teardrops quickly pops to mind, as well as surf-oriented thrashers Hotrod Fury. One-man rockabilly band Bloodshot Bill played a memorable show at the Loaf and Ladle in Exeter a few years back, but Southern New Hampshire has failed to maintain a strong rockabilly presence.

So much the better for Elsa Cross, whose debut album, “Unavailable,” digs deep into the rockabilly core to invoke the music’s pioneering ancestors. Having played numerous live performances in the Portsmouth area, Cross is set to unveil her first studio effort with a CD release show at The Stone Church on Saturday, Oct. 27.  

Cross’s influences include many obvious names—Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Wayne Hancock. Indeed, she has not roamed too far from the rootsy stylings of her country/rockabilly forefathers. Her twangy guitar style and edgy lyrics invoke all the gritty emotion of a true rockabilly soul, complete with robust vocals and a western guitar twist that together amount to a doggedly lonesome but resolutely independent style.

On “Unavailable,” Cross takes advantage of a motley ensemble of skilled musicians to build a strong foundation around her singing and songwriting. Fiddle, cello, pedal steel guitar and accordion add pizzazz to certain tunes, while the spotlight remains fixed on Cross’s fertile voice. There is a controlled ferocity to her tone and lyrics, even in the album’s softest moments, and the songs would seem equally appropriate if performed on a horse ranch or in a Hell’s Kitchen lounge.
Cross wrote eight of the album’s 10 tracks, mixing in covers of Carol Tevis and Wayne Hancock. The lyrics often deal with surrendering to temptation and coping with the consequences. Especially on the disc’s first two tracks, “Zombie for his Love” and “Because of You,” Cross sings about the odious symptoms of falling for the wrong man.

“I know I’m demented and I’ve dug myself a hole. But I’m fucked, and I’m stuck, and I’m a zombie for his love,” she sings brashly in the chorus of the first song.

Both of the first two tracks feature rapid guitar riffs that bring punk undertones to essentially folk-country songs. The next song, “Dead of Night,” changes gears, slowing down the melody and adding deep percussion with leering and ominous effect. The vocals have a forsaken feel and end on an oddly surreal note, which is quickly erased by the pepped up sound of the following song, “Before I Find a Man.”

The fourth track finds the singer in search of herself in what seems like a lonely and deserted landscape. “I’ve got to find myself before I find a man, because if I’m no good on my own, what good am I?” she sings.

The straight meter of the drumming and the resonant Johnny Cash-type guitar work featured on many of the songs gives the music a fresh edge, much as Cash did with his adaptations to country, folk and gospel in the 1960s. (Cross’s voice sometimes sounds like a deeper version of Cash’s longtime wife, June Carter.)

According to her MySpace account, Cross’ early musical influences go back to the gospel choir at the Methodist Church in her hometown. She was already tampering with instruments by the time she was eight years old and eventually fixed on guitar, playing 1950s rock ’n’ roll. (The album art on “Unavailable” shows Cross sitting on a bed with a pillow bearing Elvis’s young face.) Listening to Presley and his peers led Cross to explore the music’s old country roots, resulting in a distinctly Hank Williams flavor. It is fitting that Cross should pay homage to a couple of early legends, and it is a sign of her authenticity that her Hancock cover, “Thunderstorms and Neon Signs,” sounds as legitimately rugged and rangy as ever when she sings it. 
Cross sings and plays acoustic guitar on all 10 tracks, with a supporting cast that includes varying combinations of Steve Roy on bass, PJ Donahue on drums, Jimmy Farquar and Matt Robbins on electric guitars, Bruce Derr on pedal steel guitar, Jim Gambino on piano and organ, Joyce Andersen on fiddle, Gary Sredzienski on accordion, Charlie Rose on cello and Melvern Taylor on backup vocals. The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Jon Nolan at Milltown Recording Company in Newmarket.

The release show at The Stone Church will feature special guests Dan Blakeslee and Hotrod Fury. Doors open at 7 p.m.; tickets are $8 in advance or $10 day of show. Other upcoming Seacoast performances include a night at The Blue Mermaid in Portsmouth on Friday, Nov. 23, and a show at the Barley Pub in Dover on Saturday, Dec. 8. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/elsaacross. For tickets to The Stone Church party, visit www.thestonechurch.com or call 603-659-6321.