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In the song "Miss America", audiences find themselves in a hotel room near JFK airfield, where Jennifer Walton receives a heartbreaking news that her dad has illness discovery. The Sunderland-born artist was traveling America on her initial visit, playing alongside indie band Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly sadness casts a shadow, coloring all with melancholy. Faltering piano and hushed orchestration accompany dark dispatches from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Strip-mall, drug deal, panic attacks."

Her soft singing come across with a deadpan style, while this album's tension stems from the keen writing—mixing fiction, folksy sayings, and direct diary entries—along with surprising rich textures. Not many songs recently possess stronger novelistic style compared to "Shelly", a piece that depicts the killing of a deer and descends into a fuel-soaked confrontation, reminiscent of literary works illuminated with glimpses of warped strings. Anxious, subdued sections featuring resonating, plucked strings transition to expansive choruses, and Walton's vocals electronically altered to become a presence omniscient and menacing.

Listeners might previously know Walton as a music creator, disc jockey, and member to bands like Caroline. The album's sonic turns reflect this varied background. The opener "Sometimes" bursts in fanfare, as if an ensemble caught unawares, while "Born Again Backwards" radically ups the tempo via a punishing, stunning, repeating percussion. Dense walls of sound, skillfully mixed by a long-term partner, feel both gnarly and ethereal, while Walton's dark, enchanted thoughts peak on standout "Lambs", which briefly transforms into a swirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," Walton bargains, with heart-aching gallows humor.