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In this song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a lodging close to JFK airport, where the musician receives a devastating news of her father's cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born artist had been touring the US on her initial visit, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief takes over, tinging all in grey. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration underscore dark reports from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals are delivered in a flat manner, while the record's intensity stems from the keen writing—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Few songs this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", which describes the killing of a deer and spirals into a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking written pieces lit by flickers of warped strings. Anxious, subdued sections with resonating, plucked strings transition into grand choruses, and her vocals digitally manipulated to become something omniscient and sinister.

Listeners may already know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor in groups such as Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect this diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, as if an ensemble taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense layers of audio, expertly mixed by a long-term partner, feel at once rough and ethereal, and her morbid, magical thoughts culminate in standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.