The First Album "Daughters" Explores Sorrow and Style
Within the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a lodging close to JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton learns the devastating update of her father's illness discovery. This UK-raised artist had been traveling America on her initial visit, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, tinging all in grey. Faltering keys and hushed orchestration accompany gothic dispatches from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her gentle vocals come across with a deadpan manner, yet this record's intensity arises from her keen writing—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few tracks this year possess stronger storytelling flair compared to "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and descends into a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking literary works lit by flickers of distorted cello. Tense, quiet sections featuring echoing, strummed guitar transition to grand choruses, and Walton's vocals electronically altered to become something omniscient and menacing.
Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist as a music creator, disc jockey, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, as if a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM via a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly produced with a longtime partner, feel both gnarly and spiritual, and her dark, enchanted thinking peak on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, with poignant gallows humor.
