Jennifer Walton's First Record "Daughters" Explores Grief and Elegance
Within this track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging near JFK airport, where the musician learns a heartbreaking update of her father's illness discovery. The Sunderland-born performer had been traveling America on her initial visit, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief takes over, tinging everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration accompany gothic dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Her gentle vocals come across with a flat manner, while this record's intensity stems from her sharp writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Few songs recently possess more potent novelistic style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of an animal and descends into a petrol-laden confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces lit by glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, quiet verses with echoing, strummed strings transition into expansive refrains, and Walton's vocals electronically altered 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 such as Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns draw on her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like an ensemble caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via an intense, stunning, looping drum fill. Dense walls of sound, expertly produced by a longtime collaborator, seem at once rough and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thoughts culminate in standout "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, with heart-aching dark comedy.
