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Within the song "Miss America", listeners find themselves inside a hotel room near JFK airfield, as the musician learns the devastating update of her father's illness discovery. The Sunderland-born performer was traveling the US for the first time, drumming alongside group Kero Kero Bonito, when abruptly sadness casts a shadow, coloring everything in grey. Unsteady keys and hushed orchestration accompany gothic reports emanating from the road: "Cattle farm and broke down shack / Shopping centers, illicit trades, anxious moments."

Walton's gentle vocals are delivered in a deadpan manner, while the record's intensity stems from the keen writing—blending stories, traditional phrases, and direct personal notes—coupled with surprising rich textures. Few songs recently showcase stronger novelistic style than "Shelly", a piece that describes the death of a deer and descends toward a petrol-laden reckoning, evoking written pieces lit by flickers of warped cello. Tense, subdued verses with resonating, plucked guitar transition into grand refrains, and her voice electronically altered into something omniscient and menacing.

Audiences may previously be familiar with the artist as a music creator, disc jockey, and member to bands such as Caroline. The album's musical twists reflect her diverse career. The first track "Sometimes" erupts in flourish, as if a string band taken unawares, whereas "Born Again Backwards" drastically ups the BPM via an intense, beautiful, repeating percussion. Thick layers of audio, skillfully mixed by a longtime partner, seem both gnarly and spiritual, and her dark, enchanted thinking peak in standout "Lambs", a song that briefly becomes a twirling jig. "I hope your existence doesn't conclude with dying," she bargains, with poignant dark comedy.