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Within this track "Miss America", listeners are placed inside a lodging near JFK airfield, as the musician receives the devastating news of her father's cancer discovery. This UK-raised artist had been touring America for the first time, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when suddenly grief casts a shadow, coloring everything with melancholy. Faltering keys and soft strings underscore dark reports emanating from the tour van: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her gentle vocals are delivered in a deadpan manner, while the record's tension stems from her sharp penmanship—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and blunt personal notes—along with surprising rich textures. Few tracks recently possess more potent novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that describes the killing of an animal and spirals into a petrol-laden confrontation, reminiscent of written pieces lit by glimpses of warped strings. Tense, subdued verses featuring resonating, strummed guitar move to grand choruses, with Walton's voice electronically altered to become something all-knowing and sinister.

Listeners might previously know the artist from her work as a music creator, DJ, and member in groups like Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her varied background. The first track "Sometimes" erupts with flourish, as if a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically increases the BPM via an intense, beautiful, repeating drum fill. Thick walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a longtime partner, seem at once rough and spiritual, and her morbid, magical thoughts peak on standout "Lambs", which briefly becomes a twirling dance. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton pleads, exuding heart-aching dark comedy.