Jennifer Walton's First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Style
Within the track "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, as the musician learns a heartbreaking update that her dad has illness diagnosis. This UK-raised performer was touring America for the first time, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings accompany dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's soft singing are delivered with a flat style, yet this record's tension stems from her keen writing—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—along with surprising maximalism. Not many tracks this year possess stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which describes the killing of a deer and descends toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of written pieces lit with glimpses of warped cello. Tense, subdued sections with resonating, strummed strings move to expansive choruses, and her vocals digitally manipulated to become a presence all-knowing and sinister.
Listeners may previously be familiar with the artist from her work as a music creator, DJ, and contributor in groups like Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on her varied background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like an ensemble caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo with an intense, beautiful, looping percussion. Dense layers of audio, expertly produced by a long-term partner, seem both gnarly and spiritual, and Walton's dark, magical thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", a song that momentarily becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.
