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In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton learns the heartbreaking news of her father's cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born performer was traveling America on her initial visit, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness casts a shadow, tinging everything with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft strings accompany dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her soft vocals are delivered with a deadpan style, while this album's tension stems from the keen writing—blending fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising rich textures. Not many songs this year possess more potent storytelling style compared to "Shelly", which depicts the killing of an animal and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking literary pieces lit by flickers of warped strings. Anxious, quiet verses featuring resonating, strummed guitar move to grand choruses, and Walton's voice electronically altered into a presence all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences may already know the artist from her work as a music creator, disc jockey, and contributor in groups like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like a string band caught by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Dense layers of audio, skillfully mixed with a long-term collaborator, feel both gnarly and spiritual, while Walton's morbid, magical thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.