The First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
In this track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a hotel room close to JFK airport, where the musician receives a heartbreaking update of her father's illness discovery. The UK-raised artist had been traveling the US on her initial visit, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, tinging all in grey. Unsteady keys and soft strings accompany dark dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her gentle vocals are delivered with a flat style, yet this record's intensity stems from the sharp writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few songs this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of an animal and spirals toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking literary works illuminated by glimpses of warped strings. Tense, subdued sections with echoing, plucked guitar transition into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals digitally manipulated into a presence omniscient and sinister.
Audiences might already know Walton from her work as a music creator, disc jockey, and member in groups like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect this varied background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with flourish, as if a string band taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo via an intense, stunning, repeating drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly produced with a long-term partner, feel at once gnarly and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thinking peak on standout "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.