Ayleen Valentine continues en route with the second installment of her single packages, “a/b__2.”
Dreary with echoes and the songstress’s hauntingly mesmerizing vocal, “epitaph” lingers with cascading memories and disasters of the past. The song starts with epilogue-like lyrics: the line “I’m crying in my dreams / While people have coffee” cut deeper than a blatant admittance of depression and numbness, only for the track to start sprinting with an upbeat tempo that rushes to never-land.
On the other hand, though equally as haunting, “i can’t stop dreaming of you” gives glimpses of hope with a seemingly hopeless undertone. This time, Ayleen Valentine is chasing lingering feelings in wailing vocals and acoustic guitar melodies that chime at the perfect moments. Instead of an anxious acceleration, “i can’t stop dreaming of you” lands on a beautiful serenade with a woody, crystalizing vocal delivery from the artist.
By positioning a sonic dichotomy that only accentuates each other with an echoing haunting quality, Ayleen Valentine succeeds in transfixing the most sacred and vulnerable sentiments.
