The Debut Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
In this track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging close to JFK airport, where the musician learns a heartbreaking news that her dad has cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised artist had been traveling the US on her initial visit, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, tinging all in grey. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration accompany dark dispatches emanating from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her soft vocals are delivered with a flat style, while this album's tension arises from her sharp penmanship—blending fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few tracks recently possess more potent novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which describes the killing of an animal and descends toward a petrol-laden confrontation, reminiscent of literary pieces lit with glimpses of distorted strings. Anxious, quiet verses with resonating, plucked strings transition to grand refrains, and her vocals electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and sinister.
Listeners might previously be familiar with the artist as a music creator, DJ, and member to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, like a string band taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo with a punishing, stunning, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, skillfully produced with a longtime partner, seem both gnarly and spiritual, and Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.
