Alex Burey: Inside World

If you needed yet another reason to feel old and unproductive, stream 19-year-old Alex Burey’s debut EP Inside World, which the songwriter and producer from London is self-releasing on 9 February 2015 through his label, Pling recordings. Burey’s emotive lyrics and easygoing demeanor make for a soulful yet delicate record that’s been impeccably produced. It’s all in the detailed flourishes.

ALA.NI: Cherry Blossom

Once offering backing vocals for Mary J. Blige, Damon Albarn and even opera singer Andrea Bocelli, London-based ALA.NI is making her own soulful debut. After releasing her beautifully simple song “Suddenly” in December, ALA.NI offers a worthy follow-up this week with “Cherry Blossom.” Featuring the barely-there strokes of guitar, steel pan and guitaret, the quiet song stirs up feelings of nostalgia and mourning—all the while …

D’Angelo: Live on SNL

Not only sounding every bit the soulful, thoughtful artist that he is, D’Angelo offered an important visual message to his performance on SNL this past weekend. While he performed the stunningly gentle “Really Love” dressed in high-fashion, the singer/songwriter/instrumentalist stood atop a chalk outline and donned a hoodie, and his band wore “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts for “The Charade”—one of the …