The First Album "Daughters" Explores Grief and Style
In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a hotel room close to JFK airport, where the musician receives the devastating news that her dad has illness diagnosis. This Sunderland-born artist was traveling America for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, tinging all in grey. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration underscore dark dispatches from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Walton's gentle singing come across in a flat style, yet this record's intensity arises from her keen penmanship—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising rich textures. Not many songs this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", which depicts the killing of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking written works lit with glimpses of distorted cello. Tense, subdued verses featuring resonating, plucked strings move into grand choruses, with Walton's voice electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and menacing.
Listeners might previously be familiar with Walton as a music creator, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on this diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, as if a string band caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM with an intense, beautiful, looping percussion. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a longtime partner, feel at once gnarly and ethereal, while her dark, magical thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.