There’s a particular kind of bravery in subtlety—and Alex Isley wears it like silk. With WHEN, her first release under Warner Records in partnership with Free Lunch, the Grammy-nominated singer leans all the way into softness, choosing emotional intelligence over spectacle. The result is a collection of songs that feel more like open windows than open wounds—quiet, intimate, and full of breath.

This isn’t an arrival—it’s a continuation. Isley has been carving out her lane for years, building a discography rooted in lush harmonies and a feather-light falsetto that seems to defy gravity. But WHEN feels like a pivot toward something more refined. The EP is bolder in its restraint, more sensual in its stillness, and deeply rooted in lived experience.

The project opens with “Holding On,” a meditative ballad that threads Isley’s voice through gentle keys and ambient tension. It’s a fitting introduction to an EP steeped in uncertainty—not dramatic conflict, but the kind of quiet emotional reckoning that comes in the small hours of the night.

From there, WHEN expands in ripples rather than waves…