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In the track "Miss America", audiences are placed inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, as Jennifer Walton learns the devastating update of her father's cancer discovery. The UK-raised performer had been touring the US on her initial visit, playing with indie band Kero Kero Bonito, and abruptly grief takes over, tinging everything in grey. Faltering piano and hushed strings accompany gothic reports emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Walton's soft singing come across in a flat manner, while the record's intensity arises from the sharp penmanship—mixing stories, traditional phrases, and blunt personal notes—along with surprising maximalism. Not many songs this year possess stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", which depicts the killing of a deer and descends into a fuel-soaked reckoning, evoking written pieces illuminated by flickers of distorted cello. Anxious, subdued sections with echoing, plucked strings transition into grand refrains, with her voice digitally manipulated into something all-knowing and menacing.

Listeners may previously be familiar with Walton from her work as a music creator, DJ, and member in groups like Caroline. Daughters' sonic turns draw on her diverse background. The opener "Sometimes" erupts in fanfare, like a string band taken unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the tempo with a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense layers of audio, skillfully produced by a long-term partner, seem both gnarly and ethereal, while her dark, magical thoughts culminate in highlight "Lambs", which momentarily becomes a twirling dance. "May your life never end in death," she bargains, with heart-aching gallows humor.