Trevor James Tillery - Together. Alone (2017)

Singer/songwriter Trevor James Tillery crafts guitar-based soundscapes infused with sweeping atmospherics. Weaving his gentle voice over plaintive sonics that veer from the cinematic to the dreamy, Tillery's style is reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens or Daniel Johns draped atop Air or M83. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Tillery spent his formative years focused on music. He learned guitar at 13 and played in bands throughout high school, which helped hone his songwriting skills at a young age. From 2007 to 2012, he was the vocalist for a Phoenix-based indie rock band that released three albums before disbanding. After deciding to pursue his own vision, he took to the road, spending time in Seattle and then Nashville. His first solo project was SPELLS, which he soon set aside for Brotherun, a Radiohead-esque electronic rock duo formed with his brother, Nicholas Trey Tillery (aka Future Soul). The duo released a self-titled EP and a single before putting Brotherun on hold to pursue their own individual ventures. While in Nashville, Tillery also came out as gay, which he said helped him free himself and his creative voice, informing the direction of his sound as a solo artist. In 2014, he moved to Los Angeles and began recording his debut. As a teaser of the project's musical direction, Tillery released a stripped-back cover of Blur's "Song 2" in March 2016, which cracked the top of Spotify's viral chart. A week later, he unveiled his debut. In Moonlight was produced by Joshua D. Niles and concentrated on themes of life and death, specifically the hopeful "dark before the dawn" period. An updated version of the Brotherun track "The Dissonance Between Us" was included on the six-song EP. In 2017, Tillery kicked off a campaign to release a new single each month, culminating with the year-end release of Together. Alone. The collection featured the tracks "Immortalize," "Numb," and "In Your Atmosphere." ~ Neil Z. Yeung.