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Within the track "Miss America", listeners find themselves in a hotel room near JFK airfield, as the musician receives a devastating update of her father's cancer diagnosis. The UK-raised performer had been traveling America for the first time, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, coloring all with melancholy. Unsteady piano and soft orchestration underscore gothic reports emanating from the tour van: "Rural scenes and crumbling homes / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals come across with a flat manner, while the record's intensity arises from her keen writing—blending stories, folksy sayings, and blunt diary entries—along with unexpected maximalism. Not many songs this year possess stronger storytelling flair than "Shelly", which depicts the death of an animal and descends into a fuel-soaked confrontation, evoking literary pieces lit with flickers of distorted strings. Anxious, subdued verses with resonating, strummed strings move into expansive refrains, with Walton's voice electronically altered into something omniscient and sinister.

Audiences may already be familiar with the artist from her work as an electronic producer, DJ, and member to bands such as Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns reflect this varied background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts with flourish, like an ensemble caught unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the BPM with a punishing, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick layers of audio, expertly mixed with a long-term partner, feel both gnarly and ethereal, while her morbid, magical thinking culminate on highlight "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a swirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, with heart-aching dark comedy.