🔗 Share this article Jennifer Walton's Debut Record "Daughters" Explores Grief and Elegance Within this track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging close to JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns a devastating update that her dad has cancer diagnosis. The UK-raised artist was touring America on her initial visit, playing alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Unsteady piano and soft strings underscore dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks." Walton's soft vocals come across in a deadpan manner, while the record's intensity stems from her sharp penmanship—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—along with unexpected maximalism. Not many songs this year showcase stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of a deer and descends toward a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking literary pieces illuminated with glimpses of warped cello. Tense, quiet verses with echoing, plucked strings move to expansive choruses, with her voice electronically altered into a presence all-knowing and menacing. Audiences might previously know Walton as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor in groups such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect her diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Dense walls of sound, expertly produced by a longtime collaborator, seem both rough and ethereal, and her morbid, magical thoughts peak on standout "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, exuding poignant gallows humor.