Jennifer Walton's Debut Record "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Style
Within the track "Miss America", audiences are placed in a hotel room close to JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton learns the heartbreaking update of her father's illness discovery. This Sunderland-born performer had been traveling the US for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief casts a shadow, tinging all with melancholy. Unsteady piano and hushed strings accompany dark dispatches from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Her gentle singing come across in a deadpan manner, while the record's intensity arises from the sharp writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Not many songs recently possess more potent storytelling flair compared to "Shelly", which describes the killing of a deer and spirals into a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking literary works lit by glimpses of warped strings. Tense, quiet sections with echoing, strummed strings transition to expansive refrains, and her voice electronically altered into something omniscient and sinister.
Audiences may previously be familiar with Walton as an electronic producer, DJ, and member in groups like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on her varied background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo with a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly mixed with a long-term partner, feel both rough and spiritual, while her dark, enchanted thinking peak on highlight "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.