Within this track "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airport, as the musician learns a heartbreaking update of her father's cancer diagnosis. This UK-raised artist had been touring the US for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, tinging everything with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft orchestration accompany dark reports from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."
Her gentle singing come across in a flat manner, while this record's intensity stems from the keen penmanship—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—coupled with surprising maximalism. Not many songs recently possess more potent storytelling style compared to "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking literary pieces illuminated with glimpses of distorted cello. Anxious, quiet verses with resonating, strummed strings move to expansive refrains, with her vocals electronically altered into a presence omniscient and sinister.
Audiences might already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. Daughters' musical twists draw on this varied career. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, like a string band caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the BPM with an intense, stunning, looping percussion. Thick walls of sound, expertly produced by a longtime partner, feel both gnarly and ethereal, and her dark, enchanted thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", a song that momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, with heart-aching gallows humor.
A seasoned gaming enthusiast with over a decade of experience in lottery analysis and casino reviews.
