The Debut Record "Daughters" Explores Grief and Style
Within this track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a lodging near JFK airport, where the musician learns the heartbreaking news of her father's illness discovery. This Sunderland-born performer was touring the US for the first time, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief casts a shadow, coloring all in grey. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration underscore dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."
Her soft vocals come across in a flat style, yet the album's intensity stems from the sharp penmanship—blending stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—along with unexpected rich textures. Not many songs recently possess stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which describes the death of an animal and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of literary pieces lit by flickers of warped strings. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, plucked strings move to expansive refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated into something omniscient and menacing.
Audiences might already know the artist from her work as a music creator, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists reflect this diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, like a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via a punishing, stunning, repeating drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly mixed with a longtime partner, seem both gnarly and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she pleads, with poignant gallows humor.
