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Within the track "Miss America", audiences are placed in a hotel room near JFK airfield, as the musician learns a heartbreaking update of her father's illness diagnosis. The Sunderland-born performer had been touring the US on her initial visit, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly grief casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings accompany dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her soft vocals come across in a flat manner, yet this record's intensity stems from her sharp penmanship—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few tracks this year showcase stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", which depicts the death of a deer and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of written works lit by flickers of distorted strings. Anxious, quiet sections with resonating, plucked strings transition into expansive choruses, and her voice electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and menacing.

Listeners may already be familiar with Walton as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns draw on her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo with an intense, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick layers of audio, skillfully mixed with a longtime collaborator, seem both gnarly and ethereal, while Walton's dark, enchanted thinking culminate in standout "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.