The First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
Within the song "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton receives a devastating update of her father's illness diagnosis. This Sunderland-born performer had been traveling the US on her initial visit, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly grief casts a shadow, coloring all with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration accompany dark reports from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's soft singing come across with a deadpan style, while this album's tension stems from the keen writing—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few songs this year showcase stronger storytelling style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of a deer and descends toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces lit by glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, subdued verses featuring resonating, strummed guitar transition into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals digitally manipulated to become a presence omniscient and menacing.
Listeners may already know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect this diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts with fanfare, like an ensemble caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo with an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense walls of sound, skillfully mixed with a longtime partner, seem at once gnarly and ethereal, and her morbid, enchanted thinking culminate in standout "Lambs", a song that momentarily becomes a swirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, with poignant dark comedy.
