Grammy-nominated vocalist Alex Isley has delivered her debut album, When The City Sleeps, via Free Lunch/Warner Records.
The 15-track LP includes all six tracks from her WHEN EP, including “Ms. Goody Two Shoes” and “Hands,” plus the singles “Sweetest Lullabye” and “Westside.” It also features collaborations with James Fauntleroy and Syd.
“When The City Sleeps is my most personal work yet,” says Isley. “The album holds some of my most intrusive and vulnerable thoughts and feelings when it comes to life, and what my future holds when it comes to love.”
She continues, “When everything slows down at the end of the day, that’s when my mind starts racing. The city, L.A., is very much a main character in my story, since this is where I have lived, loved, dreamed, been heartbroken, and healed. There’s a lot of retrospect, but at the same time I’m personally living out these thoughts and feelings in real time, so listening to this album is a really emotional experience for me.”
When The City Sleeps is contemplative like a restless night, yet cruises like an after-hours drive. “Moonlight On Vermont” finds Isley’s pillowy falsetto drifting across the lush production while she embraces the present with a lover. “Riding in the wind / Swinging like the trees / I’m good where I am,” she coos.
On the Fauntleroy-assisted title track, Isley attempts to hush the insomnia-inducing thoughts of an estranged partner. “When the city sleeps, I think of you / And I don’t want to,” Isley sings. Meanwhile, Fauntleroy sings from the perspective of hoping to keep the connection alive. “If it takes all night getting it right, then I’m here,” he croons.
Closing with “Maybe Again,” Isley bares her heart over an acoustic backdrop while she makes peace with the end of a relationship. I”’ll go my way / We’ll meet maybe again / And I’ll be OK / If we couldn’t be maybe again,” she sings.
Isley will support her major-label debut album on her headlining When The City Sleeps Tour. It kicks off May 26 in Atlanta, with stops in Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and more. It wraps up June 26 in Dallas.
Stream Alex Isley’s When The City Sleeps below.
