Jennifer Walton's First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Grief and Elegance
Within the track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton learns the devastating update of her father's illness discovery. This Sunderland-born artist was traveling the US on her initial visit, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, coloring everything with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany gothic dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Her soft vocals are delivered with a deadpan manner, yet this album's intensity arises from her sharp penmanship—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—along with unexpected maximalism. Not many songs this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", which depicts the death of a deer and descends into a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking written pieces illuminated by glimpses of distorted cello. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, plucked strings move into expansive refrains, with her voice electronically altered into something all-knowing and menacing.
Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist from her work as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor in groups such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect this diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts with fanfare, as if a string band taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly produced with a longtime partner, seem at once gnarly and ethereal, and Walton's dark, magical thinking peak on highlight "Lambs", a song that momentarily transforms into a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.
