Jennifer Walton's Debut Album "Daughters" Explores Grief and Style

In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging near JFK airport, as the musician receives the heartbreaking update of her father's illness discovery. The UK-raised artist had been touring America on her initial visit, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Faltering keys and soft orchestration underscore gothic dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her gentle vocals are delivered in a flat style, yet the record's tension arises from her sharp writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—along with unexpected maximalism. Not many songs recently showcase stronger novelistic flair than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of a deer and descends into a petrol-laden confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces lit with flickers of distorted strings. Anxious, quiet sections featuring echoing, strummed guitar move into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals digitally manipulated to become something omniscient and menacing.

Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect her varied background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo with an intense, beautiful, repeating percussion. Dense walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a longtime collaborator, feel at once rough and ethereal, and her morbid, enchanted thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with poignant gallows humor.