Freak-Folk Artist Cereus Bright Announces New Album ‘Anything’ Out 7/19; Shares New Single “Ride”
May 3, 2024 BY Emma Orland
Today, the freak-folk singer-songwriter Tyler Anthony, better known as Cereus Bright, is proud to announce his next full-length album titled Anything due out July 19th via Nettwerk. The album follows recent EPs Car Alarm (2023) and Boys (2024), and sees the artist give his most artful expression on self-exploration and inner journeying. Today, we get a taste of the album with the groovy new single, “Ride.” If you’ve ever had the urge to make a sudden life change, “Ride” embodies that feeling to take a risk and follow your dream. The song comes after Anthony quit his day job and moved from Knoxville to Mexico City. The motoric tempo and building guitars create a sense of urgency and excitement.
Bright explains: “Yes, the weight of rethinking your life is heavy, but we must do it. We reach for many ideas or structures to make us feel safe, but ultimately, the song is about letting those go and pushing into the unknown.”
LISTEN & SHARE CEREUS BRIGHT “RIDE” HERE:
https://cereusbright.ffm.to/ride
Life transpires between extreme ups and downs. However, all the magic happens in the middle. As if tracing an emotional fault line right down the center, Cereus Bright explores this space with an intimate eye-for-detail and a universal appeal. The Mexico City-via-Knoxville, TN singer, songwriter, and artist born Tyler Anthony magnifies fits of emotion in the form of magnetic hooks only to delicately examine identity via inventive and immersive soundscapes. He hones his vision to perfection on his third full-length offering Anything out July 19th.
Since 2012, Cereus Bright has quietly moved into this light. He enraptured, entranced, and engaged listeners with albums such as Excuses [2016] and Give Me Time [2021]. Meanwhile, fan favorite “Stella” amassed 22 million-plus Spotify streams followed by “American Dream” with over 8-million Spotify streams. Along the way, he emerged as the rare presence who could share the stage with either The Oh Hellos or Sturgill Simpson and Philip Phillips. Throughout 2022, he recorded his latest body of work. He’s received the acclaim of tastemakers like Paste, American Songwriter, Talkhouse, and Consequence of Sound.
“Where my last record was very personal and intimate, I wanted this project to expand to bigger ideas,” he notes. “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 otherwordly 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.”
After signing to Nettwerk, Cereus Bright returned with Car Alarm (2023). In four-songs, Bright examines the mundanity of life through artful arrangements that hear subtle saxophones on “Chasing the Feeling,” warm violins on the road-trippin’ “Seven Wonders,” and modest auto-tune on “Car Alarm.” This welcomed evolution starts a new, more cerebral chapter for the artist. He metabolizes philosophy and existentialism into wide open arrangements and poetic lyricism.
The follow-up Boys (2024), continued the focused songwriting amidst lush waves of psychedelia. “Unfaithful” and “Boys” feature cinematic orchestration, blending nuanced lyricism with moody instrumentals. “Drifting” and “Pink Sky” are meant for contemplative sunset summer drives with expansive sonic palettes that evoke a sense of floating, a sense of relief from the mundane.
Now, in 2024, Cereus Bright takes full flight on Anything. Over the course of twelve songs, he weaves together stories of the grandiose and the mundane with the brilliance caught in there in the middle. “I love it when philosophy, poetry, or art makes me feel seen and connected,” he leaves off. “That’s what I would hope someone experiences when they listen to this. I’m just a songwriter who’s trying to navigate two different worlds, balance being an artist and working a job – to make sense out of life. But I really don’t know either,” he smiles.
