There’s a moment in Alice, It’s All In Your Head, Trevor Drury’s latest EP, where the piano takes over, commanding the soundscape in a way that feels both familiar and entirely unexpected. This shouldn’t come as a surprise—Drury, the Tucson-born, San Diego-raised singer-songwriter, has always known how to thread the intricate line between evocative lyricism and musical complexity. But in this collection, Drury seems to do more than craft melodies. He’s creating entire worlds, places where the boundaries between reality and imagination dissolve, much like the title suggests.
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To listen to Drury’s music is to walk into a kaleidoscopic room, where retro influences meet alt-pop experimentation, and jazz-tinged piano riffs collide with lyrics drenched in melancholy and wonder. At 8 years old, Drury began his musical journey at the piano, and that sense of wide-eyed discovery still lingers in his work today. Now, as a Berklee College of Music student, balancing songwriting with film and television composition, Drury’s ability to conjure imagery is honed to precision. This, perhaps, is why Alice, It’s All In Your Head feels cinematic—each track as vivid and layered as a film reel unspooling in your mind.
The EP opens with “Head On The Tracks,” a song that premiered in the UK’s Clash magazine, and for good reason. The song feels like a runaway train itself, propelled by an infectious piano riff and backed by a rhythm section that feels both urgent and purposeful. It’s a story of longing and recklessness, with Drury’s distinctive voice wavering between earnestness and danger. The track’s energy pulls the listener in immediately, not with force, but with a magnetic pull that’s impossible to resist.
The title track, “Alice, It’s All In Your Head,” does something remarkable. Drury’s vocals, soft but assured, weave through a dreamlike soundscape, where the lines between reality and hallucination blur. Here, the narrative quality of his lyrics shines. He’s telling a story, one inspired by the surreal nature of the human condition, but it’s less about the words themselves and more about the feelings they conjure. Drury has cited influences like Radiohead and The Killers, but in “Alice,” you hear the traces of someone like Elton John, whose piano-driven ballads carry that same weight of introspection and grandeur.
Drury’s collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Marc Swersky is also evident throughout the EP. Swersky’s touch elevates Drury’s signature alt-pop sound, adding layers that feel both polished and raw. This is especially evident in “Strangers,” a track where Drury explores the themes of isolation and connection. Here, the piano is restrained, allowing Drury’s vocals to rise and fall with an aching vulnerability. He sings not just with his voice but with his entire being—a rare feat for an artist still so early in his career.
But it’s not just Drury’s musicality that sets him apart. There’s an almost existential bent to his work, a philosophical questioning that runs beneath the surface. Alice, It’s All In Your Head isn’t just an EP; it’s a meditation on identity, perception, and the stories we tell ourselves. As he dives deeper into his songwriting, Drury seems to be grappling with larger ideas—what is real? What is imagined? And what role does music play in shaping those answers?
Part of this depth can be attributed to Drury’s diverse influences. Raised on everything from Elvis Presley to Billy Joel, Drury’s soundscape is an eclectic one. He is not content to stay within the boundaries of any one genre, and it’s this refusal to be boxed in that makes his music feel so refreshing. There’s the alt-rock edge of Radiohead, the theatrical flair of Broadway’s Ramin Karimloo, with whom Drury has toured, and the timelessness of jazz and indie rock all flowing through his work.
One can’t discuss Alice, It’s All In Your Head without mentioning Drury’s journey as an international model. There’s a confidence in his music that feels informed by the world of fashion—an understanding of how to present oneself, how to create an image, and how to leave an impression. Drury, after all, has been the face of Tom Ford’s beauty campaigns and walked the runways for brands like Hermes and Robert Geller. But in his music, there’s no artifice. Instead, there’s a vulnerability that cuts through, a willingness to expose the parts of himself that can’t be seen in a glossy magazine spread.
The standout track, “In Another Life,” feels like the culmination of all these influences. Drury’s piano work here is at its most elegant, echoing the jazz-inflected rhythms of his early training. His voice, which oscillates between tender and forceful, brings to mind the vocal stylings of Thom Yorke, with an added warmth that’s uniquely his own. The song is a reflection on missed chances and alternate realities, a fitting theme for an artist who seems constantly on the verge of discovery, both musically and personally.
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As Drury continues to evolve, there’s little doubt that Alice, It’s All In Your Head will stand as a pivotal moment in his career. It’s an EP that demands to be listened to with intent, that asks its audience to engage not just with the melodies, but with the stories woven within them. It’s about life and its illusions, about the human condition, and perhaps most importantly, about the ways music can guide us through it all.
Trevor Drury may still be a student of music, but Alice, It’s All In Your Head shows that he is also very much its teacher.
Claire Uebelacker