🔗 Share this article

In this song "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a lodging near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton receives a devastating news that her dad has illness diagnosis. This UK-raised artist was traveling America for the first time, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness takes over, tinging everything with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany gothic reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's gentle vocals are delivered with a deadpan style, while this record's intensity arises from the keen writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Few songs recently showcase more potent novelistic flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of a deer and descends toward a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking written pieces lit with glimpses of warped strings. Tense, quiet verses with resonating, plucked guitar move to grand refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated to become something all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences might previously be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like a string band caught by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM with an intense, stunning, repeating percussion. Thick layers of audio, skillfully mixed by a long-term collaborator, seem at once rough and ethereal, and Walton's morbid, magical thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, with poignant dark comedy.