Jennifer Walton's First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
In this song "Miss America", audiences are placed in a lodging close to JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton receives a heartbreaking update that her dad has cancer diagnosis. The UK-raised performer was traveling America on her initial visit, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness casts a shadow, tinging all with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft strings underscore gothic dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Walton's gentle singing come across in a flat style, yet the album's intensity stems from her sharp writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising maximalism. Not many songs recently showcase more potent storytelling flair compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of a deer and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of written works lit with flickers of warped strings. Tense, subdued verses featuring echoing, strummed strings move into expansive choruses, with her voice digitally manipulated to become something all-knowing and sinister.
Listeners might previously know Walton as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on this diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if a string band caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, repeating percussion. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed with a long-term collaborator, seem both rough and ethereal, while her dark, enchanted thoughts peak in highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she bargains, exuding poignant dark comedy.
