The First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
Within this song "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a hotel room close to JFK airport, as the musician receives a heartbreaking news that her dad has cancer discovery. The Sunderland-born performer had been traveling the US for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, coloring all in grey. Faltering piano and hushed strings underscore dark dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's soft singing are delivered in a deadpan manner, while this album's tension arises from her sharp writing—blending fiction, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—along with unexpected rich textures. Not many tracks recently showcase stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", which depicts the death of an animal and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of literary works lit by glimpses of warped cello. Anxious, quiet sections featuring resonating, strummed guitar move to grand refrains, with her vocals digitally manipulated into something all-knowing and menacing.
Listeners might already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts with flourish, as if a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with an intense, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed by a longtime partner, seem at once rough and spiritual, and Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.
