Jennifer Walton's First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a lodging close to JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton receives a devastating news of her father's illness diagnosis. The UK-raised performer had been touring America on her initial visit, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness takes over, coloring all with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft orchestration underscore dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her soft singing are delivered in a flat manner, while this record's intensity arises from her sharp writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—along with surprising maximalism. Not many tracks this year showcase stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of an animal and descends into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of literary pieces illuminated by flickers of distorted strings. Tense, quiet verses with resonating, plucked guitar transition into expansive refrains, and her vocals electronically altered into a presence omniscient and sinister.
Listeners might previously know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member to bands like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on her varied background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like a string band taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed by a long-term collaborator, seem both rough and ethereal, and Walton's morbid, enchanted thinking peak in standout "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, with poignant dark comedy.