On Aug. 22, Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey released her third album, “A Matter of Time.” After distinguishing her musical career with a Grammy award for her previous album “Bewitched,” “A Matter of Time” reflects Laufey’s growth and developed confidence as an artist as she explores a greater variety of themes.
For a pop artist, Laufey’s influences are extensive: from jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to classical inspirations through her violinist mother to theatrical works from the Great American Songbook. In “Bewitched,” these influences complement Laufey’s rich alto voice, bossa nova tunes and the themes of swooning romance and heartbreak that popularized her music. Certainly, Laufey stays true to this style in the opening songs of “A Matter of Time”, “Clockwork” and “Lover Girl,” which lament the downsides of head-over-heels love. Compared to “Bewitched,” however, the instrumentation is noticeably more layered and ornate, setting the production expectations high for the rest of the album.
The next track, “Snow White,” stands out as a raw and vulnerable dive into Laufey’s struggle with fairytale levels of beauty standards: “The people want beauty; skinny always wins / And I don’t have enough of it.” The song is beautifully tender in a topic that Laufey has never really opened up about before — a testament to her artistic vision. Meanwhile, “A Castle in Hollywood” interestingly features production from Aaron Dessner, known in part for his work with Taylor Swift, making for Laufey’s version of a traditional pop song. The next two tracks, “Carousel” and “Silver Lining,” slow down in tempo as they delve into the messiness of love: “Tangled in ribbons, a lifelong role / Aren’t you sorry that you fell, onto this carousel?” Production follows through with these two tracks, with the piano and accordion instrumentals in “Carousel” beautifully highlighting the old-timey circus vibes of the track. Laufey’s voice also begins to become more pronounced, a change from her usual quiet vocal, and one that suits the layered instrumentals well.
Reaching the midpoint of the album, the orchestral interlude “Cuckoo Ballet” beautifully combines motifs from prior songs to tell an instrumental fairytale, confirming the Disney princess themes emerging in the album. Likewise, the following track “Forget-Me-Not” takes on the form of a love letter to Laufey’s homeland Iceland in a similarly enchanting manner. Featuring Icelandic lyrics that translate to “don’t forget me, even though I’m leaving you” and slow, elegant orchestrals and vocals, the track is honest and well-crafted.
The next few tracks best demonstrate the variety that Laufey tackles with “A Matter of Time.” She chants, “I’ll break it first, I’ve had enough / of waiting ‘til you lie and cheat” in the dump-him anthem of “Tough Luck,” belts out a story of heartbreak over more of Dessner’s production in “A Cautionary Tale” and takes a risk with “Clean Air,” an unexpected country song about the feeling of escaping a toxic relationship.
Finally, the album culminates into “Sabotage,” where the dark side of romance that Laufey discusses throughout the album climaxes into instrumental jumpscares and unusually edgy lyrics: “It’s just a matter of time / ‘til you see the dagger… brace your heart / for cold, bitter, bloody sabotage.” A divisive track, its departure from her trademark soft production has left fans reeling from whiplash.
“The only thing I wasn’t fond of was ‘Sabotage’,” said junior Megan Hugo. “I still like ‘Sabotage’ for its diversity and how different it is. It’s just, compared to her other songs, I wouldn’t listen to it as much.”
It’s clear that to Laufey, this album is one of exploration; after defining her style with “Bewitched,” “A Matter of Time” is an album in which she attempts to push her boundaries as a musician. And opinions on how it compares to “Bewitched” are still divided.
“I’m still split up between the two, because ‘Bewitched’ has had time to marinate in people’s heads … [while ‘A Matter of Time’] will need time to be as established as ‘Bewitched’,” said junior Elliot Lee. “[But] so far, I like [‘A Matter of Time’] more than ‘Bewitched’ because of all the different things she does in it.”
For the risks she takes, Laufey has certainly come out of this album with wider range and growth. But despite that development, the vocal jazz and bossa nova vibes that are so quintessentially “Laufey” are missing — earning “A Matter of Time” a score of four out of five stars.
