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

Within the track "Miss America", listeners find themselves in a hotel room near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton receives the heartbreaking update that her dad has illness discovery. The Sunderland-born artist was traveling the US on her initial visit, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, coloring everything with melancholy. Unsteady keys and soft orchestration underscore gothic dispatches emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her gentle vocals are delivered in a deadpan manner, while this record's intensity arises from the keen penmanship—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Not many tracks this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", which describes the killing of an animal and descends toward a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of written pieces illuminated by glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, subdued sections with echoing, strummed guitar move into expansive refrains, with Walton's vocals electronically altered to become something all-knowing and menacing.

Listeners may previously be familiar with the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if an ensemble caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the BPM with a punishing, stunning, looping percussion. Dense layers of audio, expertly mixed by a long-term collaborator, seem both gnarly and spiritual, while her morbid, enchanted thoughts culminate on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, with heart-aching gallows humor.