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In the track "Miss America", audiences are placed inside a hotel room near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton receives a heartbreaking update of her father's cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised artist was traveling the US for the first time, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Faltering keys and hushed orchestration underscore gothic reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle singing are delivered with a deadpan manner, yet this record's tension arises from her keen penmanship—blending stories, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—coupled with surprising maximalism. Not many songs this year possess more potent novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces illuminated by flickers of warped strings. Tense, quiet verses featuring echoing, plucked strings move into grand choruses, and her voice electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and sinister.

Audiences might previously be familiar with Walton as a music creator, DJ, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on this varied background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, as if an ensemble taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo with a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense layers of audio, expertly produced with a long-term partner, seem at once rough and spiritual, while her morbid, magical thoughts peak on standout "Lambs", a song that momentarily transforms into a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.