The First Record "Daughters" Explores Sorrow and Elegance
In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a lodging close to JFK airport, as the musician receives the heartbreaking update that her dad has cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born artist had been traveling America on her initial visit, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness casts a shadow, tinging all in grey. Unsteady piano and soft strings accompany dark reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Walton's soft vocals come across with a flat manner, yet the album's tension arises from the keen penmanship—blending fiction, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few tracks this year possess stronger storytelling style compared to "Shelly", which describes the death of a deer and spirals toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking literary pieces illuminated by flickers of warped cello. Anxious, quiet sections featuring resonating, strummed guitar transition to expansive refrains, and her voice electronically altered into something omniscient and menacing.
Audiences might already be familiar with Walton as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor in groups like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if an ensemble caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via an intense, beautiful, repeating percussion. Thick walls of sound, expertly mixed with a long-term collaborator, feel both rough and spiritual, while her dark, enchanted thinking culminate on highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.