“Sometimes we are the last person to tell ourselves the truth,” vocalist Stephanie Stewart shares of the track’s lyrical origins. Set to be released May via Sleepy Cat Records, the album continues the pair’s mission to blend classic country sounds with vintage ’70s pop sensibilities and a sobering sense of honesty, as heard on the record’s first single, “Come Clean.”

Their upcoming debut album may be pre-ordered at įollow ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER on WordPress.After making a name for themselves with their dusty-yet-glowing self-titled debut in 2017, Chapel Hill duo Blue Cactus are announcing their return today with their second LP called Stranger Again. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow their YouTube channel. To learn more about Blue Cactus, check out their website. Here’s a nice video worth watching of Steph and Mario talking about why they make music and the influences for their particular style of Country. Happier times are recalled in other scenes of them sharing tender moments together. Steph sings directly into the camera while her man spends time with another woman, unaware of her presence. The interesting video, produced by Roxanne Turpen, juxtaposes footage of the couple performing the song (in which Steph wears a short white-blonde wig) with other scenes of them acting out the story told by the song lyrics. The lovely but rather mournful chorus adds to the overall sad vibe of the song. Hold you tight through the night, in his lonely embrace.” Musically, the song features many signature elements of a classic Country song – a pretty slide guitar riff, gentle piano keys, acoustic guitar, sweet violin and light percussion, all played at a languid pace. With sorrow in her voice, Steph croons “ Heartbreak will find you, wrap his arms round your waist. The song is about a woman whose man is being unfaithful, causing her heartache. In advance of the album, they’ve released a lovely single “I Never Knew Heartache (Then I Knew You)” along with a compelling video. They’ve now recorded their first full-length album as Blue Cactus, which is set to drop in late February.

The pair played music together for three years as the Americana s tring band Steph Stewart & the Boyfriends, releasing two pretty decent albums, Over the World Below in 2013, and Nobody’s Darlin’ in 2015.

Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Blue Cactus are singer/songwriters Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez. The duo who call themselves Blue Cactus are such artists. I fondly remember a fantastic album my parents owned by the legendary Ray Charles called Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which was a huge hit in 1962, but I digress… Thankfully, there are still artists around today who make country music that stays true to the classic form. They wrote and sang songs about life and love that tore at your heartstrings, and their music strongly influenced a multitude of artists in other genres, including folk, rock, rockabilly, R&B, soul and the blues. I’m talking about Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Marty Robbins, all of whom could do no wrong. I’m not a big fan of what is generally referred to as ‘Bro-Country’, however I am quite partial to classic old-school country music of the 50s and 60s.

Blue cactus music