The First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Elegance
In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a hotel room close to JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton learns a heartbreaking update that her dad has illness diagnosis. This Sunderland-born performer was traveling the US on her initial visit, playing alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly sadness takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft orchestration accompany gothic reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Walton's gentle vocals come across with a flat manner, while the album's tension arises from the keen penmanship—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few tracks recently showcase stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces illuminated with glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, strummed strings transition to grand choruses, and her vocals electronically altered into a presence omniscient and sinister.
Audiences may previously know Walton from her work as a music creator, disc jockey, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with flourish, like an ensemble taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM via a punishing, beautiful, repeating percussion. Thick layers of audio, skillfully mixed by a long-term partner, feel both rough and spiritual, while her morbid, magical thinking culminate on standout "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a swirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, with poignant dark comedy.
