You're Dreaming, the 2016 album from the Minneapolis alt-country brotherly duo
the Cactus Blossoms, is a bit of a throwback to a different time -- specifically, the spare, airy records of the '50s, where the production never got in the way of the songs or the voices. Harmonies are a specialty of
the Cactus Blossoms. The duo pattern themselves after the candied interplay of
the Everly Brothers, a sound that isn't heard enough in modern Americana, not even after a rash of
Everly tributes appeared in the mid-2000s. Although the duo never attempt the barreling open chords that made
the Everlys the foundation of hard rock,
You're Dreaming is such a sweetly lazy affair that anything that rocked would seem out of place. This isn't to say
the Cactus Blossoms avoid a speedy tempo. Occasionally, there's a bit of a train-track rhythm reminiscent of proto-country boogie and they can also swing like rockabilly cats, but things are kept hushed and gentle, a wise choice that helps
You're Dreaming feel a bit like a hazy dream: a record that exists out of time but feels fresh in how it evokes portions of our collective past. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine