Jennifer Walton's First Record "Daughters" Explores Sorrow and Elegance
Within the song "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a lodging near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns a devastating news that her dad has illness discovery. This UK-raised artist was traveling the US for the first time, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief casts a shadow, tinging all with melancholy. Unsteady keys and soft orchestration accompany gothic reports emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her gentle singing come across in a deadpan manner, while this record's intensity stems from the keen penmanship—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—along with surprising maximalism. Not many songs recently showcase stronger novelistic flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and descends into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of literary pieces illuminated by flickers of distorted cello. Anxious, subdued verses featuring resonating, strummed strings transition into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals digitally manipulated to become something all-knowing and sinister.
Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with flourish, like an ensemble caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with an intense, stunning, looping percussion. Dense layers of audio, skillfully produced by a longtime partner, feel at once rough and spiritual, and her dark, magical thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.
