The Debut Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
Within this track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns the devastating update that her dad has illness discovery. This Sunderland-born performer was traveling America on her initial visit, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, coloring all with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration underscore gothic reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her gentle singing come across with a flat style, yet the album's tension arises from the sharp writing—blending fiction, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—along with surprising maximalism. Few songs recently showcase more potent novelistic flair than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of a deer and descends toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written works illuminated by flickers of distorted cello. Tense, subdued verses featuring resonating, strummed guitar transition into expansive choruses, and Walton's vocals digitally manipulated into a presence all-knowing and menacing.
Audiences may previously be familiar with Walton as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor in groups such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on this varied background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM with an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly mixed by a longtime collaborator, seem at once gnarly and spiritual, while Walton's morbid, enchanted thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.
