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Photo: Issa Scanlon

As a self-producer and solo-songwriter, Ayleen Valentine is truly a triple threat emerging into the indie-alternative scene. We were fortunate to welcome Valentine as a guest on our tastemaking podcast, Chef’s Choice, where she disclosed the therapeutic, solitary process that music creation is for her, where genre knows no bounds and exploration is the name of the game. little rainbows after death is a testament to her visionary operation, expansively musical and intimately delivered. 

The album opens with “wanted to **** myself today,” setting the stage for the sonic heavenscape ahead. Valentine has a way with vocal layers, weaving a lush blanket of harmonies to encompass the melody, expressing as much of the meaning with just ambience as the lyrics do with words. “CS-80” follows, entering new neural pathways of pop-grunge fusion with probing synths.

Valentine also reaches into heavier sonic spaces in little rainbows after death, like on lead single, “ask nicely.” The song begins with her signature enticing hyper-pop scene, then explodes into shoegaze darkness. Distorted guitars create a wall of noise for Valentine’s fuzzed vocal as she belts to new heights. Listeners truly hear her let go, tapping into a newfound edge of grit. “000memories” pushes even further, with screamed, metal vocals juxtaposing soft-spoken verses. She creates a uniquely dark dreaminess, shrouding the entire track in celestial reverb, leaning either ghostly or angelic based on the direction of the song. 

“sex symbol” is a standout track, accompanied by a visceral music video starring Olive Ugly. Valentine’s vocals access a new level of intimacy: sonically and lyrically. She sings close to the mic, like whispering in someone’s ear, crooning, “Baby can i be your little slut / Even when we’re sick and old / And you cant get it up.” The cascading strings and swelling vocals intensify the vulnerability until the emotion runs so high it feels like we’re intruding. That’s the magic of Valentine, though—there is no intrusion, as she lays it all out on the table, inviting listeners into even her most vulgar, cynical thoughts. 

“trinket” is an introspective interlude, where she unfurls a spoken word piece about mortality, exhaustion, and life. “I just hope that by the end of it, even angsty and pissed, that I get to 86 with a house full of trinkets,” she sings. The piano instrumental flows perfectly into “the fool,” where Valentine gets grounded with a bit of a nod to the 2000s. Her vocoder harmonies mingle with a poignant piano, fanning out into an array of genres and emotions. “oxygen thief” follows, embracing a Radiohead-meets-emo experiment, invoking In Rainbows with arpeggiated guitars beneath a fiery chorus. 

The album closes with “don’t be sad,” a fittingly explorative track. She repeats, “don’t be sad,” convincing us as she convinces herself, narrating both a funeral march and a lullaby at the same time. little rainbows after death is equal parts comforting and haunting, finding innocence in vulgarity and hope in pessimism. 

Listen to little rainbows after death below: