Jennifer Walton's First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Style

Within this song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a lodging close to JFK airfield, as the musician learns the devastating update of her father's illness discovery. The Sunderland-born artist had been touring the US on her initial visit, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, coloring all in grey. Faltering piano and soft orchestration underscore dark dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her soft singing come across with a flat style, yet the album's tension stems from her sharp penmanship—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Not many songs recently possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of a deer and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of literary pieces lit by flickers of distorted strings. Tense, quiet verses featuring resonating, strummed strings move into grand refrains, with Walton's voice electronically altered into a presence all-knowing and menacing.

Listeners might already know the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and member in groups like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on this diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a longtime collaborator, feel both rough and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thoughts culminate on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, with heart-aching dark comedy.