LAST year up and coming country band the Cactus Blossoms had to keep a secret.

The duo – brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum – were asked if they fancied appearing on the revival of cult director David Lynch’s classic mind-bending TV show Twin Peaks.

However details of the programme were being kept so close to the chest that they couldn’t tell anyone about it – for a while, anyway.

“We were fans of the show beforehand, and of David Lynch, so it was just amazing to be a part of it,” says Jack.

“It was a hard secret to keep, because we wanted to tell everybody but we couldn’t. We were so excited, but were trying so hard to say nothing about it to anybody, and then someone texted me asking if we were in the new Twin Peaks.

“I was like, ‘how did you hear about that?’ and he goes ‘Twin Peaks just released the cast list on Facebook and you’re in it’. So the cat was out of the bag at that point.”

The band’s appearance, playing their melancholy, twangy track Mississippi, has given them some extra attention, but they were already going places. It was only several years ago that Jack and Page decided to form a group, originally playing covers of country and folk classics in bars and clubs around their native Minneapolis.

“It was just local gigs with friends and we ended up making a band out of it,” explains Jack.

“It still feels fresh to us, even though it seems like we’ve gone 200,000 miles in the past few years. We were getting towards the point in life where you think that we needed to get real jobs, and then this all happened…”

The duo have been compared to the likes of the Everly Brothers, with country and the blues making up their main sound. It took time for the group, who headline the O2 ABC2 tomorrow night, to start writing their own material.

“Back when I first started getting into music, I was just learning every song that I liked,” adds Page, speaking over the phone before a gig in Amsterdam.

“I was asked about doing my own songs, and I’d be like, why would I? There’s so many great ones out there to learn. But then you find out there’s something you want to say that you don’t feel anyone else has said in quite the way you want, and that’s how you get started.”

After a couple of self-produced records the brothers were given a big boost when they found themselves touring with JD McPherson, a retro rock n’ roller who’s a firm favourite in Scotland after appearances at the Celtic Connections festival.

JD ended up producing their first proper album, You’re Dreaming, which includes the bittersweet shuffle of the title track, the bright pop of Spotlight Kisses and If I Can’t Win’s vivid sway, amongst others.

“He has a unique take on music, and he’s always looking for it to have a certain emotional level,” says Page.

“When we were recording You’re Dreaming he was careful to keep the feeling of what we were doing, and to make it authentic. He helped us to be ourselves, and I think that comes through on the recording.”

Tomorrow's show will be the band’s first headline Scottish show, having previously supported JD McPherson here. Jack is aware that the roots of the Cactus Blossoms music can be traced back here.

“So many of the folk ballads have their roots in Scotland or Ireland, and when we started playing music it was folk music that we listened a lot to, and we know of all these traditions,” he says.

“So there’s hopefully a connection between what we do, and those traditions.”

Once their European jaunt is finished the band will turn their attention to the next album, which they hope to release in the spring next year.

“It should be a little different from You’re Dreaming and we’re having a really good time working on it,” adds Page.

“Just imagine the best of Michael Jackson mixed with your favourite things from the Beatles… Nah, I’m just kidding. Since we recorded the last album we’ve toured with Nick Lowe, Jenny Lewis and Lucius, just all these great musicians, and I think some of that has rubbed off on us a bit. It’s maybe a little bit more rocking than before.”

The Cactus Blossoms, O2 ABC2, Wednesday, £12, 7pm