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In the song "Miss America", listeners are placed in a hotel room close to JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns a devastating update that her dad has illness diagnosis. The UK-raised performer had been traveling America for the first time, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration underscore gothic dispatches from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her gentle vocals are delivered with a deadpan style, while this record's intensity arises from her sharp writing—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few tracks this year showcase more potent novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and spirals toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking literary pieces illuminated by glimpses of warped cello. Tense, quiet sections with resonating, plucked guitar move to expansive refrains, with her voice electronically altered into something all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences might previously know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, as if an ensemble taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly mixed by a longtime partner, seem both gnarly and ethereal, and her morbid, enchanted thinking culminate in highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a twirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.