On first glance, Minneapolis' Cactus Blossoms could read as novelty: two sometimes-pompadoured brothers singing old-school country-pop harmonies. Heck, they were even featured on an episode of David Lynch's rebooted Twin Peaks. But there's a crystalline sincerity—to Jack Torrey and Page Burkum's lyrics, their music and their whole vibe—that makes it clear this isn't just a clever costume. "Hey Baby" mimics the smooth appeal of Rick Nelson with some excellent J.J. Cale-style guitar. On the one hand, it's about a road trip in an old pickup; on the other, it's a tribute to the power of positive thinking: "I hope it all works out," the siblings sing. "It always works out." When they sing, "I get alone, I get by, I get gone, I get high, I know I'm not the only one" on "Not the Only One," it sounds not like a lament but an embrace of community. But all that sincerity is not naive; it just chooses to look life right in the eye and not flinch. "Ballad of an Unknown" ponders trying to find dignity when you're unseen by other humans: "People pass by/ He remains on the ground/ By a busy street … None of their business." "Is It Over" is a delightful take on the dreamy '60s pop of Chad & Jeremy, its easy-listening style belying the brutally honest lyrics narrated by an aging crooner: "Well you could break a leg, a brittle bone/ Now you're petrified like a rolling stone/ All washed up, you're bound to fall/ Just waiting for the curtain call." In a nice surprise, Jenny Lewis joins the duo on the starry-eyed "Everybody," and her bright voice is like a zest of acid cutting through cream. Laid-back "One Day" is whatever the country equivalent of yacht rock might be (Airstream-cruising-the-desert?). Chiming, bouncy "Runaway" is the most Everlys-esque, and "Lonely Heart" recalls both '70s singer-songwriters in the Harry Chapin/Cat Stevens vein and the rippling, border beauty of the Mavericks. Don't miss closer "If I Saw You," another slice of Rick Nelson effortlessness with a loping cowpoke rhythm and weeping steel guitar. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz