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Within this track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a hotel room near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns a heartbreaking update of her father's cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised artist was touring the US on her initial visit, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly sadness takes over, tinging everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration accompany gothic dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's soft singing are delivered in a deadpan manner, while this record's tension arises from her sharp penmanship—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—along with surprising maximalism. Few tracks this year showcase more potent novelistic flair than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of an animal and spirals into a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking literary pieces lit with glimpses of distorted cello. Tense, subdued sections featuring resonating, strummed strings move into grand refrains, with Walton's voice electronically altered into something all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners might previously be familiar with Walton as a music creator, DJ, and contributor in groups like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns draw on her diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if a string band taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo via an intense, beautiful, looping percussion. Thick layers of audio, skillfully mixed by a longtime collaborator, seem at once rough and ethereal, while Walton's dark, magical thoughts culminate on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.