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Within the track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airport, where Jennifer Walton receives a devastating update of her father's cancer discovery. This UK-raised artist had been touring America on her initial visit, drumming alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness takes over, coloring all in grey. Faltering piano and soft orchestration accompany dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her soft singing are delivered with a flat style, yet the record's tension stems from the keen penmanship—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Not many songs this year showcase more potent novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces illuminated by flickers of warped cello. Tense, subdued sections with echoing, plucked strings move into grand refrains, and her voice electronically altered to become something all-knowing and menacing.

Audiences might previously be familiar with the artist as a music creator, DJ, and member to bands such as Caroline. The album's sonic turns draw on this diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts with flourish, as if an ensemble taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via a punishing, stunning, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, skillfully produced with a long-term collaborator, seem both rough and ethereal, and her morbid, magical thinking peak on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a swirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, with heart-aching dark comedy.