Record Review - 4 December 18 2002

Inhabiting territory between Patti Smith's pissed-off snarl and Chrissy Hynde's melodic meow, Alastor's Elizabeth Elkins balances on a creative tightrope spanning punk and pop. Guitars growl, drums snap and sing-along choruses soar on this impressive eight-song release. Most tracks don't break three minutes, condensing singer/songwriter/guitarist Elkins' concepts into compact statements that reluctantly uncoil with taut muscle.

Sharply produced by Rusty Cobb (Butch Walker, Injected, Stuck Mojo), The Late Night Plays is still all Elkins' stage. Whether strumming or stinging — usually the latter — she pens powerful, dense tunes that hit and run with deceptive ease.

Similarities to other artists abound (check out the nearly 100 listed on Alastor's own website), but if Concrete Blonde's music ever moved you, this will suit you perfectly as well. Elkins' voice spits and hums with pent-up hostility as she sneers "I don't believe you" on the opening "Deadfall," before crashing into the smoldering "Deception Bay," a tune reprised from the group's 1999 EP. Paul Melancon contributes harmonies to three tracks, adding pop flavor to the often jagged three-chord attack.

Alastor's new twin-guitar lineup, added after the recording of this disc, should give Elkins even more room to concentrate on her chilling yet soulful vocals, a primary ingredient of the band's tensile sound. But what's most impressive here is the band's unapologetic, late- '70s garage/grit aesthetic. Raw, in-your-face and from the heart, Alastor's music — though ripe for comparisons — easily stands on its own.

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Alastor plays its CD release show at Smith's Olde Bar Fri., Dec. 20.??