Dynamic alt songwriter Ayleen Valentine has shared her new moody and heavy single ‘ask nicely’. The song serves as a poignant statement on social constructs, and effortlessly toes the line between indie rock, third wave emo, and Deftones-esque nu metal. It was written and produced entirely by Ayleen herself, and delivers a powerful performance that steps outside of the softer vocal tones of her previous material. Ayleen also directed and produced the music video.

“I started to notice that men aren’t as aware of other people’s emotions like women are, and that was frustrating to me in my relationship,” says Ayleen. “I felt like men around me were constantly thinking about themselves and everyone else was an afterthought, whereas women are always taught to put other people first. So ‘ask nicely’ was me pleading for somebody to put me first. But even if I asked nicely, I would be met with disappointment.”