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In the song "Miss America", audiences are placed inside a hotel room near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton learns a devastating news that her dad has illness diagnosis. The Sunderland-born performer had been traveling the US on her initial visit, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly sadness takes over, coloring all in grey. Faltering keys and hushed strings accompany dark dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's gentle vocals are delivered in a flat manner, while the record's intensity stems from her sharp writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Not many tracks recently showcase more potent storytelling style than "Shelly", which describes the death of an animal and descends into a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of written works illuminated with glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, quiet verses with resonating, strummed guitar transition to expansive refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated into a presence omniscient and menacing.

Listeners may already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect her varied background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, as if a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly mixed by a longtime collaborator, feel at once rough and ethereal, while her dark, magical thinking peak on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a swirling jig. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, with poignant dark comedy.