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In the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton learns a devastating news that her dad has illness discovery. This UK-raised artist had been traveling the US on her initial visit, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief takes over, coloring everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft strings accompany gothic reports emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her gentle vocals come across in a flat style, while the album's tension stems from her sharp penmanship—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Not many tracks this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", which describes the death of a deer and spirals into a petrol-laden reckoning, reminiscent of literary works illuminated with flickers of distorted cello. Tense, quiet sections with resonating, plucked strings move to expansive refrains, and Walton's voice digitally manipulated into a presence all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners might previously know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups like Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on her varied career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, like an ensemble taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo with an intense, beautiful, looping percussion. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed with a longtime partner, seem both rough and ethereal, and Walton's morbid, enchanted thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton bargains, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.