The Debut Album "Daughters" Explores Sorrow and Style
Within the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves in a hotel room close to JFK airport, where the musician receives a heartbreaking update of her father's cancer diagnosis. This Sunderland-born artist had been traveling the US for the first time, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, tinging everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft strings underscore dark reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her soft singing are delivered in a deadpan style, yet this album's intensity arises from her keen writing—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—along with surprising rich textures. Few tracks this year possess stronger storytelling style than "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of an animal and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking literary pieces lit with glimpses of distorted cello. Tense, quiet verses with resonating, plucked strings transition into expansive choruses, with Walton's voice digitally manipulated into a presence omniscient and sinister.
Audiences may previously know Walton from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect her varied career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts with flourish, like a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM with an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed by a long-term partner, feel both rough and spiritual, while her dark, magical thinking culminate on highlight "Lambs", which briefly becomes a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, with poignant dark comedy.
