The First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Style

Within this song "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging close to JFK airport, where the musician receives the devastating news of her father's illness discovery. This Sunderland-born artist had been traveling America for the first time, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, coloring all with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft orchestration accompany dark dispatches from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's gentle vocals come across in a deadpan manner, yet the album's intensity arises from the keen writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few songs recently showcase more potent storytelling flair than "Shelly", which depicts the death of a deer and descends toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of written works lit with flickers of warped cello. Anxious, subdued verses featuring resonating, strummed strings transition into expansive choruses, and Walton's vocals digitally manipulated to become something all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences may previously know Walton as a music creator, disc jockey, and contributor in groups like Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on this diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, like a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo with an intense, stunning, looping drum fill. Dense layers of audio, skillfully produced by a long-term collaborator, seem both rough and spiritual, and Walton's dark, magical thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", a song that momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she bargains, with poignant dark comedy.