🔗 Share this article

In the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airfield, where the musician receives a devastating news of her father's illness diagnosis. The Sunderland-born artist had been touring the US for the first time, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief casts a shadow, coloring all in grey. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany gothic reports emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's soft vocals come across with a deadpan style, yet the album's tension stems from her sharp penmanship—blending stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few songs recently showcase more potent novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", which describes the death of a deer and descends into a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of literary pieces lit by glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, quiet verses featuring resonating, strummed guitar move into grand refrains, with Walton's vocals digitally manipulated into something omniscient and menacing.

Audiences may already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and member in groups like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts with flourish, like a string band caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo via an intense, beautiful, looping drum fill. Dense layers of audio, expertly produced with a long-term collaborator, seem at once rough and spiritual, and her dark, enchanted thinking peak in standout "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, exuding poignant gallows humor.