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In the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves in a lodging near JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton receives the devastating update of her father's cancer diagnosis. The Sunderland-born artist was traveling America on her initial visit, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly sadness takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft strings underscore dark reports from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her gentle vocals come across with a deadpan manner, while the album's tension stems from the keen writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—coupled with surprising maximalism. Not many songs recently possess stronger novelistic flair than "Shelly", which depicts the death of an animal and spirals into a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking written pieces lit by glimpses of distorted strings. Tense, subdued sections with resonating, plucked strings move into expansive refrains, with Walton's voice electronically altered into a presence omniscient and sinister.

Audiences might previously be familiar with the artist from her work as a music creator, DJ, and member in groups such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with fanfare, as if a string band caught by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the tempo via a punishing, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Dense layers of audio, skillfully mixed with a long-term collaborator, feel both rough and spiritual, while Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts culminate in standout "Lambs", a song that momentarily transforms into a swirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she pleads, with poignant dark comedy.