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In the song "Miss America", audiences are placed in a hotel room near JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton receives the heartbreaking update of her father's cancer discovery. This UK-raised artist was touring the US for the first time, playing alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, tinging everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and hushed strings underscore dark dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her gentle singing come across with a deadpan style, yet this record's tension arises from her keen penmanship—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Few tracks recently showcase stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of an animal and descends toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking written works lit with flickers of warped cello. Anxious, quiet verses with resonating, plucked strings transition to expansive refrains, with her voice electronically altered to become something all-knowing and menacing.

Audiences might previously know the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect this varied career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, like a string band caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via a punishing, stunning, looping percussion. Thick layers of audio, skillfully produced by a longtime partner, feel at once rough and spiritual, and her morbid, magical thinking culminate in highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with heart-aching dark comedy.