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Within this track "Miss America", audiences are placed in a hotel room near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton receives the devastating news of her father's illness discovery. This Sunderland-born artist was touring the US on her initial visit, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals come across in a flat style, while the record's tension arises from her sharp penmanship—blending fiction, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few songs this year showcase stronger storytelling style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of a deer and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking literary works lit with flickers of warped strings. Anxious, subdued sections with echoing, strummed strings move to grand choruses, and Walton's vocals electronically altered into a presence omniscient and menacing.

Audiences might already be familiar with the artist as a music creator, disc jockey, and member in groups such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on this varied background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts with flourish, like a string band caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, repeating percussion. Dense layers of audio, expertly produced by a long-term partner, feel at once rough and ethereal, while her morbid, enchanted thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", which briefly becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with heart-aching dark comedy.