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Within this track "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a hotel room close to JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns the heartbreaking update of her father's illness discovery. The Sunderland-born artist was traveling the US on her initial visit, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration underscore gothic dispatches emanating from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's gentle vocals are delivered in a flat style, yet this album's intensity stems from her sharp penmanship—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising rich textures. Not many tracks recently possess stronger novelistic flair than "Shelly", which describes the killing of a deer and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking literary works illuminated by glimpses of warped strings. Anxious, quiet verses featuring echoing, strummed strings move into expansive refrains, with Walton's voice electronically altered to become something all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners might already know the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and member to bands such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts with flourish, like an ensemble taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM via a punishing, beautiful, repeating percussion. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a longtime partner, seem at once gnarly and spiritual, and Walton's dark, magical thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", a song that momentarily transforms into a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, exuding heart-aching gallows humor.