Indie Folk Group Cephas Releases Single Ahead of Debut Album

_{By Mike Romero}

Yesterday, June 16th, Cephas released the song “Giants Among Men” ahead of their self-titled debut album, due out this July. The Provo/Orem-based Folk Rock band is composed of Robert Speiser (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Melissa Alexander (Vocals/Bass), and Weston Paul (Drums). The single release was accompanied by a full band show at Muse Music in Provo.

New to the Provo music scene, Cephas has already made an appearance on The Couch Series and performed several shows between Provo and Salt Lake. The band’s songwriting explores themes like travel and mental illness. When dealing with the latter topic, the band plans to take an approach that will inspire people to conquer personal challenges. “I hope people feel a scene to these songs. I want them to feel pulled away,” said Speiser to Reach Provo. “To us, songs can be like short little movies. I hope these songs can live up to that. And ultimately, I want these songs to resonate with others. I wanted to write on subjects that are easier to connect with, rather than just love.” To which he comically added, “Booooo. Love songs are everywhere.”

Their debut album is a self-recorded affair, tracked everywhere from UVU drum rooms and BYU sound booths to apartment living rooms and cars. “Its pretty incredible what you can do and still sound good,” said Speiser. “We early on decided to record everything ourselves. Honestly, now days musicians have so much at their fingertips, it just makes sense. Especially as an up-and-coming artist that doesn’t have the money to pay $50 or more an hour.”

“Giants Among Men” features driving toms, dual male/female harmonies, and some nice guitar textures in the chorus. It’s definitely promising. It’ll be interesting to see what’s contained on the rest of the album when it’s released at Velour Live Music Gallery on July 28th, 2016.

Make sure to like Cephas on Facebook and watch the music video for “Giants Among Men” below. You can download the lead single for free on Soundcloud.