It does, but IMO it's probably worth reading The Player of Games or Use of Weapons before it anyway. With the exception of perhaps Surface Detail, none of the Culture books rely on any others. Consider Phlebas gives a good view of The Culture from "outside" (the perspective of the Idrians) but is quite slow.

I started with Consider Phlebas because I wanted to see why people raved about the Culture series. I found it kind of tedious and slow, and although I finished it, I wondered what all the hype was about. I'm thankful that I picked up the second book though (Player of Games) - because I couldn't put it down; it was fantastic. I've stuck with the series since then (Excession was another highlight). I'd would like to revisit Consider Phlebas at some point, I think I might enjoy it more now that I have more context for the story.

I enjoyed Consider Phlebas a lot, but it is very different from the rest of the series.

I couldn't get through the cannibal part of Consider Phlebas, was soo weird.

Use of Weapons and Consider Phlebas are the worst of the series IMO. I powered through Consider Phloebus just because I knew people loved the series, but there's really no reason to start there

Consider Pheblas wasn't the best in my opinion. Player of Games is my favorite, but some of the other later ones are good.

I enjoy the settings and the concept of the Culture more than the plotlines.

Consider Phlebas is easily the worst of the series. My top 3 in no particular order are Use of Weapons, Player of Games and Excession.

If you find Consider Phlebas too slow, try Excession before giving up on Banks.