Many burgeoning bands tap vintage California styles for the bygone country-rock sound forged by such seminal acts as Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and The Byrds. But not many folks do it with such period-correct attention to detail as Los Angeles tunesmith J.D. King. He opens his 2008 album with “Two Six Packs a Day,” a timeless drinking tune that conjures the honky-tonk ghosts of Bakersfield's heyday. The following “Blackberry Road” moves at a more locomotive pace, with King inflecting in a James Taylor–toned tenor over rambling banjo notes and mellow slide guitar. A salient melody pokes out from “Pink Elephant Saloon,” a sprightly number with a whistled intro and endearing toy-piano parts. The weepy “With Pen in Hand” plays like an old roadhouse jukebox ballad pumped through an early-'70s Michael Nesmith filter. “Long Gone” boasts the best vocal harmonies here, and with its watery pedal steel and golden AM radio tones, it could be mistaken for a song from Sailcat’s 1972 album Motorcycle Mama.