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In the song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a hotel room near JFK airport, as the musician receives a heartbreaking update of her father's cancer discovery. This UK-raised performer was touring America for the first time, drumming with group Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly grief casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration accompany dark dispatches from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Her gentle vocals are delivered in a deadpan style, while the record's intensity arises from the sharp writing—mixing stories, folksy sayings, and direct personal notes—coupled with unexpected rich textures. Not many tracks recently possess more potent novelistic flair compared to "Shelly", which depicts the death of an animal and descends into a petrol-laden confrontation, reminiscent of literary works illuminated by flickers of distorted strings. Anxious, quiet sections with resonating, plucked guitar move into expansive refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated into something all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners may already be familiar with the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and contributor to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her varied background. The first track "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, like an ensemble taken by surprise, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM via an intense, stunning, looping drum fill. Thick walls of sound, skillfully produced by a long-term collaborator, feel at once gnarly and ethereal, and Walton's dark, enchanted thinking culminate on standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, exuding poignant dark comedy.