🔗 Share this article

In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a lodging near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton learns the devastating news that her dad has cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised performer was touring the US on her initial visit, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief casts a shadow, coloring all with melancholy. Unsteady piano and hushed strings underscore dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her soft vocals are delivered with a flat manner, yet the album's tension arises from the sharp writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—along with unexpected maximalism. Not many tracks recently showcase more potent storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and descends into a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking literary pieces lit with flickers of distorted cello. Tense, quiet sections featuring echoing, plucked guitar move into expansive refrains, with Walton's vocals electronically altered into a presence all-knowing and menacing.

Listeners may previously be familiar with the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and member in groups such as Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, as if a string band taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM via an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly produced with a longtime partner, feel at once gnarly and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thinking peak in standout "Lambs", which briefly becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, exuding poignant dark comedy.