With their vintage instruments, period-perfect costumes and wholesome appeal, the Lucky Stars appear to have ambled straight off the set of some Disney singing-cowboy flick, circa 1950. Though the novelty fades shortly, they sustain interest through solid musicianship and a sense of fun.

Hollywood & Western opens with "Everybody's Fool" (RealAudio excerpt), which the band previously released in period packaging as a 45 backed with "Tennessee Tango," which is included here along with the Dave Stuckey-produced "Look What the Cat Dragged In," another single the band released in 1996.

Lyrics such as "Sooner or later you'd think I would learn/ That when I look for a match I end up getting burned," from "Everybody's Fool," are about as deep as it gets with these guys. As dancers at their live shows can attest, the emphasis is on a steady, rhythmic bounce that keeps them swinging through numbers such as "All Shapes and Sizes" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Honky Tonk Bound" (RealAudio excerpt).

Bandleader and main songwriter Sage Guyton's bright, earnest vocals make even heart-broke plaints such as "Hot Potato" sound cheerful, though "High Horse" wears thin.

Smooth instrumental interplay is another band hallmark, as heard on tunes such as "A Fella Named Jack" and the finger-snapping "Sugar Mama." Throughout the album, steel guitarist Jeremy Wakefield's deft instincts and maneuvers on the strings really spark the music to life. Guest fiddler Brantley Kearns lends an easygoing swing to Wakefield's "White Lie Blues," one of the album's best songs.

The Lucky Stars' music echoes with the legacies of Hank Williams, Spade Cooley, Tex Williams and Tennessee Ernie Ford — so if you want contemporary sounds, keep looking. Though the band's throwback vibe is furthered by their insistence on retro sounds and gear, their love for the music can be heard in the grooves.