The strains of country music known as honky-tonk and western swing are mostly associated with states like Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee, but there’s a significant tributary in Louisiana (Louisiana Hayride anyone?) and both of these CDs make the case for honky-tonk’s Louisiana Music (add trademark symbol here) legitimacy. But the similarities quickly end there. Where the purpose of Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue is to entertain the listener with an ingratiating mix of charm, humor, and a touch of show biz, the Haunted Hearts’ Come Back to Louisiana has a different agenda. Both Holiday and Hurtt share a predilection for image-consciousness, but the Hearts’ period clothing and graphic design are signifying tropes set up to establish a specific vibe of this forgotten part of Louisiana’s musical history and to reclaim it.

Holiday’s disc swings out of the gate with a well-paced mix of original tunes and covers spanning 1947-78, and the mood is light, breezy, and playful, which suits Holiday’s voice just fine. Some of the cover choices even get a bit saucy, such as “What Else Does She Do Like Me?” and Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City,” but Holiday’s voice lacks the toughness to really sell the Loretta lyric. The Honky Tonk Revue band provides more than able backup, demonstrating some sterling musicianship and a convincing feel for the genre considering their urban status. The whole package is as pleasant as Gal’s smile on the cover, but over the long haul, little problems like vocal limitations and the innate inauthenticity of a project like this reveal themselves and you’re left with a Western-themed amusement park vibe. Not unpleasant, just a bit sugary in large doses.