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In the track "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a lodging near JFK airport, as the musician learns a devastating update that her dad has illness discovery. This Sunderland-born artist had been touring the US on her initial visit, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, coloring all in grey. Unsteady keys and hushed strings accompany dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's soft vocals are delivered in a deadpan style, while the record's intensity arises from the sharp writing—mixing fiction, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—along with unexpected rich textures. Few songs this year possess more potent novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of an animal and spirals toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking written pieces illuminated by flickers of warped cello. Anxious, quiet verses with resonating, strummed strings transition into expansive refrains, with Walton's vocals electronically altered into something omniscient and menacing.

Listeners might already know the artist from her work as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect this varied career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM via a punishing, stunning, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly produced by a long-term collaborator, seem at once gnarly and ethereal, and Walton's morbid, enchanted thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.