Minneapolis duo The Cactus Blossoms have announced the upcoming release of their new album, One Day for February 11th. The group, comprised of brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum, has also shared a new song “Hey Baby,” the lead track from the record. One Day will be released on February 11th, and is currently available to pre-order here.
Like much of The Cactus Blossoms’ catalog, the The steady-cruising “Hey Baby” operates on multiple levels: take it at face value and it’s a playful little track about a roadtrip in a rusty old truck. Zoom out, and there’s a deeper message about the power (or naïveté) of positive thinking. “I hope it all works out,” the brothers sing in exquisite harmony, “It always works out.”
“That idea of finding a silver lining comes up a lot on this record,” says Torrey. “It’s an acknowledgment that no matter how messed up things might be, people still want to believe in the world and find ways to feel lucky and joyful.”
While The Cactus Blossoms have drawn frequent comparisons to other musical siblings like the Everlys and Louvins over the years, One Day often suggests a more soulful, ’70s-inspired palette, hinting at times to Bobby Charles or JJ Cale with its playful Wurlitzer, breezy guitars, and lean, muscular percussion. The band’s classic country and old-school pop roots are still there, of course, but the growth and evolution underlying One Day is obvious, not only in the duo’s writing, but in their core philosophy, as well.
Lockdown hit the brothers hard. Quarantine put a sudden halt to their plans to record a new studio record, and as Minneapolis began to erupt in social and political unrest following the police killing of George Floyd, music began to seem like the least of the duo’s concerns.
“It felt like the whole world was falling apart,” says Burkum. “We had to put things on hold just so we could try to wrap our heads around everything that was happening in Minneapolis and beyond.”
As 2020 stretched on, Torrey and Burkum slowly began to regain their footing, and when it felt safe enough to get together in person, they started kicking ideas back and forth, inviting each other into their respective writing processes earlier than ever before. When it came time to record, the brothers called on longtime collaborator/engineer Alex Hall, who brought his mobile rig up from Chicago so they could cut the album quick and dirty in Burkum’s basement. They kept their circle tight for the sessions, working with their core touring band—which included both their older brother and their cousin—to capture the songs with a feel as close to the live show as possible.
“From the start, we knew we wanted to keep the instrumentation minimal and consistent across the whole album and embrace the dryness that came with recording in Page’s basement,” says Torrey. “We wanted it to sound raw.”
Hailed as “the Twin Cities’ most beloved new traditional-country act” by The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Cactus Blossoms built a devoted local following in the years leading up to their first national release, 2016’s You’re Dreaming, which was produced by friend and tourmate JD McPherson. Dates with Kacey Musgraves, Jenny Lewis, and Lucius followed, as did rave reviews from NPR, who extolled “the brothers’ extraordinary singing,” and the New York Times, who praised their “tightly woven harmonies.” The band was further catapulted into the spotlight the following year, when David Lynch tapped them to perform in the highly-anticipated return of Twin Peaks, and continued to build on their success with their 2019 follow-up LP, Easy Way, which featured co-writes with Dan Auerbach and led Rolling Stone to laud the duo’s “rock-solid, freak of genetics harmonies.”
One Day Tracklist:
01) Hey Baby
02) One Day
03) Is It Over
04) Everybody (featuring Jenny Lewis)
05) Runaway
06) Ballad Of An Unknown
07) Not The Only One
08) Love Tomorrow
09) Lonely Heart
10) I Could Almost Cry
11) If I Saw You
Tour Dates:
01/03/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
01/10/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
01/17/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
01/24/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
01/31/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
02/16/22 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre*
02/17/22 – Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre*
02/18/22 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Lulu’s Downstairs*
02/19/22 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall*
02/22/22 – Bozeman, MT @ Live From The Divide
02/23/22 – Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Lounge**
02/24/22 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern**
02/25/22 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios**
02/26/22 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios**
03/01/22 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel**
03/02/22 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Felton Music Hall**
03/03/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy**
04/29/22 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach
06/04/22 – McGill, NV @ Schellraiser Music Festival
06/08/22 – Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads▲
06/09/22 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Ponyboy▲
06/10/22 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall▲
06/11/22 – Austin, TX @ 3Ten▲
06/12/22 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall▲
06/15/22 – Saint Louis, MO @ Off Broadway▲
06/16/22 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabes▲
06/17/22 – Des Moines, IA @ XBK▲
06/18/22 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge▲
*with The Still Tide
**with Kacy & Clayton
▲with Esther Rose
