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In this song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a hotel room close to JFK airport, as Jennifer Walton learns a heartbreaking news of her father's cancer discovery. The UK-raised artist was touring America on her initial visit, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly sadness casts a shadow, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and soft orchestration accompany dark reports emanating from the road: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's soft vocals are delivered with a deadpan style, while the album's tension stems from her keen writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—coupled with unexpected maximalism. Few songs recently showcase more potent novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which describes the killing of an animal and descends toward a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking literary pieces illuminated with flickers of distorted cello. Anxious, quiet verses with echoing, strummed guitar transition into expansive refrains, with Walton's vocals digitally manipulated into something omniscient and menacing.

Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist from her work as a music creator, DJ, and contributor to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns draw on this diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, as if a string band caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, looping drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly produced with a long-term partner, seem at once gnarly and spiritual, and her morbid, magical thoughts culminate on standout "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," Walton pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.