CACTUS MUSIC REVIEWS MAC

a stone’s throw away from a Flying Burrito Brothers track With sugarcoated, lightly twanged melodies like “Downtown” No matter your entry point into their textured arrangements, it’s easy to slip into their warm, cozy sound and relive the pain and pleasure of youth.

Whether it’s the Roy Orbison-esque throwback “I’m Calling You” or the rambling slice of 1970s Americana “I Am the Road,” Burkum and Torrey wear their influences proudly on their sleeve, curating a fabled time capsule sure to win over folk fans across generations. To listen to the Cactus Blossoms is to travel back to the past, as you are thrust into a timeless land that falls in lineage somewhere between the Everly Brothers and Tom Petty. But despite each bringing their unique spin on the genre, the Cactus Blossoms are entirely in sync, using their trademark layered harmonies to craft a sophomore album (with a little help from Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys) that’s every bit as refreshing as it is intimate. Its image finds brothers and bandmates Page Burkum and Jack Torrey walking in opposite directions, as if strangers passing each other on the street without a second thought. It’s got plenty of twang without coming off as forced country nostalgia and enough hooks and universal lyrical themes to win over pop music fans.The cover art of Easy Way, the latest album from Minneapolis folk duo the Cactus Blossoms, is a tad misleading. Admittedly, the album does sound a little heavy at times and could use another driving track like “Rebel” to break up the sound, but it’s still a great effort from a band not tied to current musical trends and templates.

The fact that the band has toured with a pretty diverse set of bands (The War & Treaty, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Lilly Hiatt, Junior Brown) speaks to their ability to straddle genres and draw from a wide bench of musical influences. The album closes on “Space Country,” a beautifully trippy nearly two minutes long near-instrumental that perfectly ties up the album and gives one final nod to the 1970s eclectic and wildly experimental music scene. It’s a stripped down, emotional song that manages to defy categorization, and it could just as easily be covered by anyone from Dolly Parton to Paul Simon. Just as solid, but a little slower, is the Stewart-fronted title track, which beautifully shows off her range as a singer. But there are a few surprises, like the band’s latest single, “Rebel,” a fantastic up-tempo country rock track with Mario Arnez on vocals. The moody compelling album opener “Blue As the Day,” with Steph Stewart taking over on the vocals, appropriately teases much of what’s to follow.

It’s that history that Blue Cactus seems to have soaked up and reinterpreted for a 2021 audience with their latest record.

CACTUS MUSIC REVIEWS MAC

It’s hard to miss the distinct ‘70s vibe of Stranger Again, the second album from North Carolina duo Blue Cactus.ĭuring that decade, Willie, Waylon and their buddies flipped the middle finger to Nashville’s Music Row and headed to Texas Cosmic Country brought together the rednecks and hippies and Fleetwood Mac managed to win over millions with an ethereal mix of female/male vocals singing about every aspect of heartbreak.

Cactus music reviews