“A style which follows the reflective tone of 2021’s Give Me Time with a newfound focus on the future, looking forwards and confronting all the mystery, uncertainty and potential therein.” That’s how we described the new material from Tyler Anthony’s Cereus Bright when writing of single ‘Chasing the Feeling’ back in August. But where the previous album ruminated on specific circumstances with an introspective eye, the Knoxville songwriter is now looking to widen the lens to capture larger, more universal themes. As Anthony explains:
I attempted to take the mundane and make it abstract. When you put something familiar in an unfamiliar place, you see it differently. To get there, I explored more mythological and otherworldly ideas and sounds than ever before—while trying to retain the core intimacy of songwriting that I’ve always strived for. I hope what we made is a perfect balance.
If ‘Chasing the Feeling’ “errs towards the optimistic side of things,” as we wrote, “or at least finds itself unable to shake the lingering possibility there might exist a better way to live,” then new single ‘Drifting’ learns to lean into the flow of life in order to arrive at such a destination. An ode to every tired soul and person without direction which offers comfort not through the promise of agency but rather the unforeseen benefits of letting oneself relax into the drift.