Brooklyn-based indie singer and songwriter Alaina May draws a parallel between falling in love with how a dog loves in new single.
Indie singer and songwriter Alaina May has a new single “The Dog” to follow up her previous single “Casual.” The song is another glimpse to the forthcoming body of work created alongside acclaimed indie rock duo TOLEDO.
“The Dog” explores what May describes as “loving like a dog.” It is built around warm acoustic textures, airy harmonies and intimate storytelling. Furthermore, the song is inspired by her experience falling in and out of love for the first time, while raising a puppy named Aspen. She draws a parallel between a dog’s unwavering devotion and the ways we can lose sight of ourselves when in pursuit of love.
In the past, when I’ve loved someone, I’ve turned a bit of a blind eye to my own wellbeing in order to preserve peace or keep things pretty. I think now, I am much more self-aware of this tendency, and this song played a part in existing in that awareness. Without a doubt, loving deeply is so beautiful and is one of life’s wonders, but I’ve learned that healthy love will always consider the self alongside the other person. This song feels like a spilling out of where my brain has been on the topic of loving deeply. It sits in such a personal place within my being.
Alaina May was from a small, conservative suburb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was raised in a Christian church, spending her early life conforming to a version of herself shaped by those surroundings. When she left for college in Boston, she began to shed those expectations to step into an identity as a queer woman and a more authentic sense of self. This push and pull continues to shape her music.
She is a deeply sensitive and introspective writer, leaning towards emotional intensity and embracing what it means to feel deeply in both her inner world and her relationships with others. Her songs trace the quiet and unspoken shifts of identity, the complexity of human connection and the lasting imprint of loving, losing, and and finding her footing within it all.
Since 2025, she has relocated to New York and is refining her artistic vision with a creative partnership with TOLEDO. The collaboration began as a chance direct message, evolving into music that feels both deeply personal and sonically expansive.
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