The Debut Album "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Style
In the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a hotel room close to JFK airport, as the musician learns a devastating update that her dad has illness discovery. This Sunderland-born artist was traveling America on her initial visit, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and hushed orchestration underscore gothic dispatches emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Her soft vocals are delivered in a flat style, yet this album's tension stems from the sharp penmanship—blending stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Few songs recently possess more potent storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of a deer and descends into a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of written works illuminated by flickers of warped cello. Anxious, subdued sections featuring echoing, plucked guitar move into grand choruses, with her vocals electronically altered to become something omniscient and menacing.
Audiences might already know the artist from her work as a music creator, DJ, and member to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect her varied background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, as if a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM with an intense, stunning, looping percussion. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed with a long-term partner, seem both gnarly and spiritual, while her dark, magical thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with poignant dark comedy.
