The First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
Within the track "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton receives the devastating update of her father's cancer discovery. This Sunderland-born performer had been traveling the US on her initial visit, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft strings underscore dark dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's gentle singing are delivered in a deadpan style, while this record's intensity arises from the sharp writing—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Not many tracks recently possess stronger novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of written works lit with glimpses of warped strings. Anxious, quiet verses with resonating, strummed strings transition to expansive choruses, with Walton's vocals electronically altered into something omniscient and menacing.
Listeners may previously know the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor in groups like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect this varied career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, as if a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the BPM with a punishing, stunning, looping drum fill. Thick walls of sound, skillfully produced by a long-term partner, seem both rough and ethereal, and Walton's dark, magical thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a swirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, exuding poignant dark comedy.
