Alaina May Shares New Single “Tourniquet”
Originally from a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee, Alaina May grew up in the Christian church and spent much of her early life conforming to expectations shaped by that environment. After moving to Boston for college, she began to question those boundaries, embrace her identity as a queer woman, and develop a more authentic sense of self. That tension between expectation, identity, and self-discovery now sits at the heart of her songwriting, where she explores love, loss, emotional intensity, and the quieter shifts that come with becoming more fully yourself.
Since relocating to New York in 2025, Alaina May has continued refining that perspective through an ongoing creative partnership with TOLEDO. What began with a simple direct message has grown into a close collaboration that has helped expand the sonic world around her deeply personal writing, marking a new chapter that feels more confident, textured, and fully realized.
“This is truly one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written, Writing it felt so immediate and honest. It was one of those rare moments as a writer when you sort of enter a high and everything spills out onto the page. I hope those listening love it as much as I do.”
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Alaina May returns with “Tourniquet,” a tender meditation on the difficult process of letting go. Following “The Dog” and “Casual,” which have together surpassed 500,000 streams, the new single pushes deeper into May’s emotionally intimate songwriting. Built around gently unfolding acoustic instrumentation and a soft, close-up vocal, “Tourniquet” captures the space between longing and acceptance, where the desire to move forward still competes with the pull of a relationship that hasn’t fully loosened its grip.
Inspired by May’s first year in New York, the song reflects the contradiction of starting a new chapter while still wanting something from the past. Its title became a metaphor for finally cutting off a connection she knew she could no longer pursue, crystallized in the line “tourniquet the arm you held.” Rather than framing closure as a clean break, May presents it as something quieter and more painful: the moment when healing begins not because the feelings are gone, but because holding on is no longer possible.
Make sure you check out “Tourniquet” on Spotify below and on your favorite streaming platform!
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Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more “on” version of me.
