Jennifer Walton's First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a lodging near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton receives the heartbreaking news that her dad has cancer discovery. This Sunderland-born artist was traveling the US on her initial visit, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief takes over, coloring everything in grey. Faltering keys and soft orchestration underscore gothic reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's gentle vocals are delivered with a deadpan manner, while the album's tension stems from her sharp writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Not many songs this year possess stronger storytelling style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of a deer and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking written works lit with glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, strummed strings move into grand refrains, and her voice digitally manipulated to become a presence omniscient and menacing.
Audiences might previously be familiar with Walton from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on this varied background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, as if a string band taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly produced with a longtime partner, seem at once rough and spiritual, and Walton's morbid, magical thinking culminate in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a twirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, with heart-aching gallows humor.
