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Within the track "Miss America", listeners are placed in a hotel room close to JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton receives the devastating update that her dad has illness discovery. The Sunderland-born performer had been touring America for the first time, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and suddenly sadness takes over, tinging everything with melancholy. Faltering piano and soft strings underscore dark dispatches emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle singing come across with a deadpan manner, while the record's intensity stems from her keen writing—blending fiction, traditional phrases, and blunt diary entries—along with surprising maximalism. Few tracks recently showcase stronger storytelling style than "Shelly", a piece that depicts the death of an animal and descends toward a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of written works lit with glimpses of warped cello. Anxious, quiet sections featuring resonating, strummed guitar move to grand choruses, and Walton's vocals electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and menacing.

Audiences may already be familiar with the artist as an electronic producer, DJ, and member to bands like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect this diverse career. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in flourish, as if a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically increases the tempo with a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Dense walls of sound, expertly mixed with a long-term partner, feel at once rough and spiritual, while Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts culminate on highlight "Lambs", a song that momentarily becomes a swirling jig. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, with poignant dark comedy.