Brother Cephus — Not That Important Not That Important? Not so much. Brother Cephus’ 2017 release — a follow-up to 2015’s Noise and a pair of Wounded Hearts cassettes — is by far the the most vital piece of the actual family band’s output to date. In just over 20 minutes, frontmen and brothers Seth and Gabe Davis lead friends JJ Revell (bass) and Logan Coats (drums) through a six-track movement that’s a near-perfect snapshot of what it’s like to be stuck somewhere between 24 and 34 years old and looking at a future that isn’t quite as sunny as the ones our parents were working on at this stage of their lives. There’s anxiety and curiosity stirred into the brothers’ drinks on “Toxic Slip” and “How Do You Do,” but the Davises never black out after the cartloads of cocktails they’re downing on bleary-eyed, bouncy album highlight “Can We Then?” Instead, they fact-check the news (“What Is This? America.”), look for a spiritual home (“Not Even You”) and employ frenzied drumming, reverb and gliding guitar lines en route to making music that hits that weird, sweet spot in between feeling slightly self-assured and downright confused-as-fuck at the very same time.
See a full recap of the year's best local albums in the new issue of Creative Loafing Tampa. Check out the full list via cltampa.com/music. Call your local record store to see if it has this release.
