The First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
In this song "Miss America", listeners find themselves in a lodging near JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton learns the devastating update that her dad has cancer discovery. This Sunderland-born performer was touring the US for the first time, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Unsteady keys and hushed strings accompany dark reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's gentle singing are delivered with a deadpan style, while this album's tension arises from her keen penmanship—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—along with surprising maximalism. Few songs recently showcase stronger storytelling style compared to "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of an animal and descends into a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking written works lit by glimpses of warped strings. Anxious, quiet verses featuring resonating, strummed strings transition to expansive refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated to become a presence all-knowing and sinister.
Audiences might previously know Walton as a music creator, DJ, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on this diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like an ensemble taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo with an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense walls of sound, skillfully produced with a longtime collaborator, feel at once gnarly and spiritual, and Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", which briefly becomes a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she bargains, with poignant gallows humor.
