Evan and Jaron Go Retro

Pop rockers Evan and Jaron had already won us over with their smarter-than-the-average-heartthrob lyrics and the sweetest harmonies we expect to hear outside of Heaven. But when the 30-year-old Lowenstein twins rang us up to discuss their resurrection of the Everly Brothers on this week's American Dreams (airing Sunday on NBC at 8 pm/ET), we discovered five more compelling reasons to cheer on the thinking listener's Nelson. To wit:

1. They're heroes. Well, Evan is, anyway. Although he ran late for the interview, he had the best excuse ever: The volunteer EMT had stopped to help out at the scene of a car crash. "He just had a baby," Jarod explained while we waited, "and he was like, 'After giving life, I don't ever want to be around an opportunity where I can't save one'." Of course, incorrigible Jaron was as quick to bust his sibling's chops as he is to give him props. "Saving lives... it's like [going to the bathroom]," he joked. "Doesn't it happen every day?"

2. They're not just well-cast, they're perfectly cast. "Ever since American Dreams came out, everybody's been saying, 'You guys are a shoo-in to play the Everly Brothers! What a no-brainer!'" Jaron said. "We've done their tunes for 10 years, so we walked in and recorded ['Wake Up, Little Susie'] in literally one hour, including setup." Added Evan with a laugh: "Yeah, we were well-prepared, so if we suck, we have no excuse!"

3. They respect their elders. "Maybe 'respect' is the wrong word; we love the music that came before us," Jaron clarified. So when they are mentioned in the same breath as the Everlys, say, or the Eagles, they aren't offended, they're elated. "If anyone's going to compare us to bands, the Everly Brothers are fantastic," exclaimed Evan. "If someone says, 'These guys are a modern version of Simon and Garfunkel,' then we're doing something right."

4. They give us the most bang for our buck. Instead of sticking with the major labels, the duo are independently releasing their new album in two parts, the first of which, Half Dozen, drops on April 13 with a sticker price of under six bucks. What's more, those who enjoy their Everly mimicry are likely to consider the platter as golden as any oldie. "We're much more like [recent Dreams weaver] Chris Isaak playing Roy Orbison than Nick Lachey doing Tom Jones," theorized Evan. "It's not so much of a stretch for us, so when people pick up our CD, it'll sound a little more fleshed-out, but basically like a modern-day version [of our predecessors]."

5. They'll be back. Dreams' producers "said that they want to bring us back next season," Evan admitted. Naturally, Jaron has a boffo storyline in mind. "They're going to have us play a different group every week!" he cracked. "Personally, I'd like to retell history &#224 la Forrest Gump." But seriously... "No, my pitch to them would be to have the Everly Brothers fight over Meg (the American Bandstand dancer played by Brittany Snow)." Concluded Evan: "And that could wrongly explain why the band broke up for all those years!"