🔗 Share this article Jennifer Walton's Debut Album "Daughters" Explores Sorrow and Elegance In this song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton receives a heartbreaking news that her dad has cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised artist was traveling America for the first time, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, tinging everything in grey. Unsteady keys and soft orchestration underscore gothic reports from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks." Walton's gentle singing are delivered in a flat style, while the album's intensity stems from the sharp writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Few songs recently possess more potent storytelling style than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of an animal and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of literary works lit by flickers of warped cello. Anxious, subdued verses with echoing, strummed strings move into expansive choruses, and Walton's vocals electronically altered into something all-knowing and sinister. Audiences may previously be familiar with Walton as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, as if a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed with a long-term partner, feel both rough and ethereal, while Walton's dark, magical thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, exuding poignant dark comedy.