🔗 Share this article

Within the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton receives the heartbreaking news that her dad has cancer discovery. This UK-raised artist had been touring the US on her initial visit, playing alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly sadness takes over, coloring everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft orchestration underscore dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her soft singing are delivered with a flat manner, yet this album's tension arises from her keen writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—along with unexpected rich textures. Not many tracks recently showcase stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which describes the death of an animal and descends toward a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking literary pieces illuminated by glimpses of warped cello. Tense, subdued sections with resonating, plucked strings transition to expansive choruses, with her voice digitally manipulated into something all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners might already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor in groups such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect this diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, as if an ensemble taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM via a punishing, stunning, looping percussion. Thick walls of sound, skillfully produced by a long-term collaborator, feel both gnarly and ethereal, and her dark, magical thinking culminate in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, exuding poignant dark comedy.