Kevin Bronson on March 10th, 2011

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In a brave new world where vintage Americana has helped the likes of Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers achieve headliner status, Los Angeles duo Honeyhoney ought to be rising stars. And maybe they will be, once fans get their ears around “Billy Jack,” the sophomore album from the duo of Suzanne Santo and Ben Jaffe.

• ||| Stream: “Ohio”

Honeyhoney introduced their distinctive strain of folk, bluegrass, jazz, soul and pop with the 2009 album “First Rodeo,” on the Ironworks label founded by Kiefer Sutherland and Jude Cole. Santo and Jaffe have since parted ways with the label (“We asked for a divorce and they kept the kids,” Jaffe jokes) and set out to make a new album with local producer Raymond Richards (Local Natives, and many others).

“It’s more stripped-down – we tried to keep it focused on a sound we could re-create live,” Jaffe says. “I feel like the first album was almost us on steroids, with all the studio musicians we brought in. This time it’s just us and a few friends,” including Richards himself on pedal steel and (the Belle Brigade’s) Barbara Gruska on drums. And, Jaffe adds, the new songs are not a big departure sonically: “Yes, it stays in the Americana landscape.”

That’s where Honeyhoney’s strongest, with Santo trading off on violin and banjo and wielding her smoky voice like a barroom/lounge diva and the classically trained Jaffe trading off guitar and piano and framing the arrangements just so. The initial track “Ohio” – Santo’s native state – finds the singer simmering and storytelling at her dusky best.

There’s no firm release date yet for “Billy Jack,” but the duo hopes to have it out by the summer. They kick off a tour supporting Xavier Rudd in early May.

||| Live: HoneyHoney is performing every Monday this month at the Bootleg Theater, and they open for Xavier Rudd on May 2 at the El Rey Theatre.