Katrina Elam’s self-titled 2004 debut album arrived during a period of resurgence for female country artists and Elam’s first release is an impressively mature effort by this 21-year-old singer/songwriter. Unlike some of her peers, she favors interpretive nuance over full-throttle energy as a singer, bringing to mind Martina McBride on many tracks. Her contributions to the album’s songs likewise show skill and taste. Elam invokes the windswept scenery of her native Oklahoma in the uplifting “No End In Sight,” then offers a jaundiced view of growing up Mid-American in the stinging “Normal.” Relationships and their complications provide fodder for both mournful ballads (“The Breakup Song”) and rousing country-rock tracks (“Drop Dead Gorgeous”). Elam can bristle with defiance when she chooses, as “Unbreakable” shows — but the softer edge of her voice is even more winning, particularly on “Home Running Away” and “Flowers By the Side of the Road.” Though not a breakout commercial success, Katrina Elam is an engaging song collection that suggests even better things to come.