Album Review: The Cactus Blossoms - You're Dreaming

About a minute into You're Dreaming's first song, I told myself I’d bet a thousand bucks the accompanying press release would reference the Everly Brothers. Too bad it wasn’t a real bet, because it would have been an easy win.

Despite their different last names, Cactus Blossoms' vocalists Jack Torrey and Page Burkum are brothers, and their singing bears an impossible-to-miss resemblance to Don and Phil's. Also, Torrey, who wrote most of the excellent program here, shares many of the lyrical preoccupations of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who penned a lot of the Everlys’ hits. One Cactus Blossoms song, “Clown Collector,” even reads like a follow-up to the Everlys’ “Cathy’s Clown.” 

In other words, this isn’t exactly uncharted territory. That said, however, it’s first-rate throughout. If you like country- and rockabilly-flavored pop, tight harmony vocals, and especially, a certain '50s duo, you’re bound to like this, too.