The First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging near JFK airfield, as the musician learns the devastating news that her dad has cancer discovery. The UK-raised performer had been touring America on her initial visit, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly sadness takes over, coloring everything with melancholy. Faltering piano and soft orchestration underscore gothic dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Walton's soft singing are delivered with a flat style, while the album's intensity arises from her keen writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Few tracks recently showcase more potent novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of a deer and descends toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking written works lit by flickers of warped cello. Tense, quiet verses featuring resonating, plucked guitar move into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals electronically altered into something all-knowing and menacing.
Audiences might already know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect her varied career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like an ensemble taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo with a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a longtime partner, feel at once rough and spiritual, while Walton's morbid, enchanted thoughts peak in highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, exuding poignant gallows humor.
