Jennifer Walton's Debut Record "Daughters" Explores Grief and Style
In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a hotel room close to JFK airport, where the musician learns the devastating update that her dad has cancer discovery. This Sunderland-born artist was touring the US for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly grief takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany gothic dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Her gentle singing are delivered in a deadpan manner, while this record's tension arises from her keen penmanship—blending fiction, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Few songs recently possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of an animal and spirals into a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking written works illuminated with glimpses of distorted cello. Anxious, quiet sections featuring resonating, plucked guitar transition into grand refrains, and Walton's vocals electronically altered into something omniscient and sinister.
Audiences might previously be familiar with Walton as a music creator, DJ, and member to bands such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect her varied career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, like an ensemble caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, skillfully mixed by a longtime collaborator, feel both rough and spiritual, while her dark, magical thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", which briefly becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, with poignant dark comedy.
