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In the track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a hotel room close to JFK airport, where the musician learns the devastating update of her father's illness discovery. This UK-raised artist was traveling America for the first time, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Unsteady piano and hushed strings accompany gothic dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her soft vocals are delivered in a deadpan style, while the album's tension arises from the sharp penmanship—blending stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few songs this year possess more potent storytelling flair than "Shelly", which depicts the death of a deer and spirals toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, reminiscent of literary works illuminated with glimpses of warped cello. Tense, quiet sections featuring resonating, strummed strings move into grand choruses, with her vocals electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and sinister.

Listeners might already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, disc jockey, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. The album's musical twists draw on this diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if a string band taken by surprise, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM via an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick walls of sound, expertly mixed with a longtime collaborator, feel both rough and ethereal, while her dark, enchanted thinking peak in highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly transforms into a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, with heart-aching gallows humor.