Jennifer Walton's First Album "Daughters" Explores Sorrow and Style

In this track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a hotel room close to JFK airfield, where the musician receives the devastating news of her father's cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born artist was touring America on her initial visit, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings underscore dark dispatches from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her soft vocals come across in a deadpan style, while this record's intensity stems from the keen writing—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few tracks recently showcase stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which depicts the killing of a deer and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written works lit by flickers of warped strings. Tense, quiet sections featuring echoing, plucked strings transition into grand refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated into a presence omniscient and sinister.

Listeners might previously know the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect this diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts with flourish, as if an ensemble caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo with a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Dense layers of audio, skillfully mixed with a longtime collaborator, seem at once rough and spiritual, while Walton's morbid, enchanted thoughts peak in highlight "Lambs", a song that momentarily becomes a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, exuding poignant gallows humor.