Jennifer Walton's First Album "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Elegance
In this track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a hotel room near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton learns a devastating update of her father's cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born artist was touring the US on her initial visit, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief takes over, tinging all with melancholy. Unsteady keys and soft orchestration accompany dark reports from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's soft singing come across in a flat manner, while the record's intensity arises from her keen penmanship—blending fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Not many tracks this year possess more potent novelistic style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of an animal and descends into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of literary works lit by flickers of distorted strings. Tense, quiet sections featuring echoing, plucked guitar move to grand choruses, and her voice digitally manipulated into a presence all-knowing and sinister.
Audiences may previously know Walton from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect her varied background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo with an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed with a long-term collaborator, feel at once rough and spiritual, while her dark, magical thinking peak on standout "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, with heart-aching dark comedy.
