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In the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves in a hotel room close to JFK airfield, as the musician receives the devastating news that her dad has cancer diagnosis. The UK-raised artist was touring America for the first time, playing alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings underscore dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's soft singing are delivered in a flat style, while the album's intensity stems from the keen writing—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and direct diary entries—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few songs this year possess stronger storytelling style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of a deer and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking literary pieces illuminated with glimpses of warped strings. Tense, quiet verses with resonating, plucked guitar transition to expansive refrains, and Walton's vocals digitally manipulated into a presence all-knowing and sinister.

Audiences might previously know the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on this diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via a punishing, stunning, looping drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly produced with a longtime partner, seem both rough and spiritual, and Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts culminate on highlight "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a swirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she bargains, with heart-aching dark comedy.