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Within this track "Miss America", audiences are placed in a hotel room close to JFK airfield, where the musician receives the heartbreaking news that her dad has cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born performer had been touring the US on her initial visit, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Faltering keys and soft orchestration accompany dark dispatches emanating from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's gentle singing come across in a deadpan style, yet this record's intensity stems from the sharp penmanship—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—along with unexpected rich textures. Few tracks this year possess more potent storytelling flair than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of an animal and descends into a petrol-laden confrontation, evoking literary works lit with flickers of warped strings. Anxious, subdued verses with resonating, plucked strings transition into expansive choruses, with her voice electronically altered into a presence all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners may already know the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on this varied background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, like a string band caught by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo via an intense, stunning, looping drum fill. Thick layers of audio, skillfully produced with a long-term collaborator, feel both rough and spiritual, and Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts peak on highlight "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, with poignant gallows humor.