Equally comfortable with dance grooves (“When I’m Alone”), country-tinged laments (“Everywhere I Go”), and epic pop dramas (“Loosen the Knot”), Illinois-bred, California-based Elisabeth Maurus is a promising work in progress on this smoothly produced debut. But despite her confident, alluringly husky voice, the songs don’t always make a lasting impression. The happy exceptions: “Stranger,” a Buddy Hollyinflected rocker on which she shouts, “I’m not yours, I am mine!”; and the aching piano ballad “Oh Mississippi.”