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In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a hotel room close to JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton receives a devastating news that her dad has illness diagnosis. This UK-raised artist had been traveling the US for the first time, playing with group Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief takes over, coloring all in grey. Unsteady keys and hushed strings accompany dark reports emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's soft singing are delivered in a deadpan manner, while this album's tension stems from her sharp writing—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Not many tracks this year possess stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of a deer and spirals toward a petrol-laden confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces illuminated with glimpses of warped cello. Tense, quiet sections with resonating, plucked strings move into grand refrains, with Walton's voice digitally manipulated to become a presence all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences may already be familiar with the artist as a music creator, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, like an ensemble taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense layers of audio, expertly mixed with a longtime partner, seem at once gnarly and ethereal, and her morbid, enchanted thoughts peak in standout "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.