Jennifer Walton's Debut Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
Within the track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airfield, where the musician receives a heartbreaking update of her father's cancer diagnosis. The UK-raised performer had been traveling the US on her initial visit, playing alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Unsteady piano and hushed orchestration accompany gothic dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's soft singing come across in a flat manner, yet the album's tension stems from her sharp writing—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Not many songs this year showcase stronger storytelling style than "Shelly", which depicts the killing of an animal and spirals into a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking written works illuminated by glimpses of warped cello. Tense, subdued sections featuring resonating, strummed guitar transition to expansive refrains, with her vocals digitally manipulated to become something omniscient and sinister.
Listeners might already know the artist as a music creator, disc jockey, and contributor in groups like Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect her diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, as if a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo with an intense, stunning, repeating drum fill. Dense walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a long-term partner, seem at once gnarly and ethereal, and her dark, enchanted thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.
