Jennifer Walton's First Record "Daughters" Delves Into Sorrow and Style
Within the track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a hotel room close to JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton learns the devastating news of her father's cancer discovery. This Sunderland-born artist was traveling America for the first time, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, tinging all in grey. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany gothic dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Walton's soft vocals come across in a deadpan style, yet this record's tension stems from her sharp writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Few tracks recently showcase stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of a deer and descends into a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of written pieces lit by flickers of warped cello. Tense, quiet sections featuring resonating, plucked guitar move to grand refrains, and her voice digitally manipulated to become something omniscient and sinister.
Audiences might already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on her diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts with fanfare, like a string band caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, looping percussion. Dense walls of sound, skillfully mixed with a longtime collaborator, seem at once gnarly and ethereal, while Walton's morbid, enchanted thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", a song that momentarily transforms into a swirling jig. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.
