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Within the song "Miss America", listeners are placed in a lodging close to JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton receives the devastating news of her father's cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised performer was traveling the US for the first time, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration underscore gothic reports emanating from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals come across in a flat manner, yet this record's intensity stems from her keen penmanship—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Few tracks recently possess stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of an animal and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking literary pieces illuminated with flickers of warped cello. Tense, subdued verses featuring echoing, plucked guitar transition to expansive refrains, and her vocals digitally manipulated into something all-knowing and menacing.

Listeners might previously know the artist as a music creator, DJ, and member to bands like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns draw on this varied career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts with fanfare, like an ensemble caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via an intense, stunning, repeating percussion. Thick walls of sound, expertly produced with a long-term collaborator, seem at once rough and ethereal, while her dark, enchanted thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with heart-aching gallows humor.