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In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves inside a lodging near JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton learns a heartbreaking news of her father's illness discovery. The UK-raised performer had been traveling the US for the first time, drumming with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Faltering piano and hushed strings accompany gothic reports emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's soft singing come across in a deadpan style, while this album's tension arises from her keen writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and blunt personal notes—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Few songs recently showcase stronger storytelling style compared to "Shelly", which depicts the death of a deer and spirals toward a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking literary works illuminated by glimpses of distorted strings. Anxious, subdued sections featuring resonating, plucked strings transition into grand refrains, and her vocals digitally manipulated to become something omniscient and menacing.

Audiences may previously be familiar with Walton from her work as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect her varied career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if a string band caught by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed with a longtime collaborator, seem both gnarly and ethereal, while Walton's dark, enchanted thinking peak in standout "Lambs", which momentarily transforms into a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, with poignant dark comedy.