The First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style

Within the song "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airfield, as the musician learns a heartbreaking update of her father's illness diagnosis. The UK-raised performer had been traveling America on her initial visit, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly grief casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings underscore gothic dispatches emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's soft singing are delivered in a deadpan style, while the album's intensity stems from the keen writing—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising maximalism. Not many tracks recently showcase stronger novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", which describes the death of an animal and descends toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of literary works illuminated with glimpses of warped strings. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, plucked strings move into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals electronically altered to become a presence all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences might already know the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor in groups such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on this diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, as if an ensemble taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with a punishing, stunning, looping percussion. Dense walls of sound, skillfully produced with a longtime partner, seem both gnarly and ethereal, and her morbid, enchanted thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.