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Within the track "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a lodging close to JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton receives a devastating update of her father's illness diagnosis. This UK-raised artist had been touring America for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly grief takes over, coloring all in grey. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration accompany dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's gentle singing come across in a deadpan manner, yet this album's tension stems from the keen penmanship—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Few songs recently showcase stronger novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", which depicts the killing of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of literary works lit by flickers of warped cello. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, strummed strings move into expansive choruses, and Walton's voice digitally manipulated into a presence omniscient and sinister.

Listeners might already be familiar with Walton as an electronic producer, DJ, and member in groups like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, as if a string band caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with an intense, stunning, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly produced by a longtime collaborator, feel at once gnarly and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thinking culminate in highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a twirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.