The Debut Album "Daughters" Explores Grief and Style

Within the track "Miss America", audiences are placed inside a hotel room close to JFK airport, where the musician receives the heartbreaking news of her father's illness discovery. This UK-raised artist had been traveling America for the first time, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering keys and soft strings underscore gothic dispatches emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals come across with a deadpan style, while the record's tension arises from her sharp penmanship—blending fiction, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Not many songs this year possess stronger storytelling style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of a deer and spirals into a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking written works illuminated with glimpses of warped cello. Tense, subdued sections featuring echoing, plucked guitar transition to expansive refrains, and Walton's vocals electronically altered to become something omniscient and sinister.

Listeners may already know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups like Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like a string band taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo via a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense walls of sound, expertly produced with a long-term collaborator, feel at once rough and spiritual, and Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a twirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, with heart-aching dark comedy.