The First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Elegance

In the track "Miss America", audiences are placed in a hotel room near JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton learns a devastating news that her dad has illness discovery. The Sunderland-born artist was touring the US for the first time, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness takes over, tinging all in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings accompany dark dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals are delivered in a deadpan manner, yet this record's intensity stems from her sharp penmanship—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—along with surprising maximalism. Not many tracks this year showcase stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking literary works illuminated by flickers of distorted strings. Tense, quiet sections with resonating, plucked guitar transition to expansive choruses, and her vocals electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and sinister.

Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, as if a string band caught by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo with a punishing, stunning, looping percussion. Dense layers of audio, expertly produced by a longtime collaborator, feel at once rough and spiritual, and Walton's dark, magical thinking culminate on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with poignant dark comedy.