With the release of her third studio album, “A Matter of Time,” Laufey departs from her “jazzier” side and enters an era of vulnerability and self-exploration. Released Aug. 22, with a bonus track released Aug. 24, the album sees the singer looking deeper inside herself and confronting her insecurities. Laufey moves between themes of hope and heartbreak, transitioning from upbeat songs to those that are more subdued.
“A Matter of Time” is more experimental than Laufey’s past works, building on the themes of self-discovery. While many songs evoke memories of her past works, others introduce a new sound. Like all experiments, not everything lands, but Laufey embraces this by carrying on despite the risks.
The album kicks off with “Clockwork,” a powerful opener about the uneasiness and anxiety that can come with falling in love with a friend; Laufey uses the phrase “like clockwork” to highlight how often this occurs. Transitioning into “Lover Girl,” the singer revisits the bossa nova style from some of earlier albums and older songs like “Falling Behind” and “From the Start.” “Lover Girl” addresses the difficulty of being away from someone you love, with Laufey saying of the track: “The hardest part of loving someone is being away from them. This is that story.” Laufey goes beyond just describing how this separation feels, putting the listener directly into her shoes as she sings, “I’m working overtime to have you in my world / Oh, what a curse it is to be a lover girl.”
The tone softens and quiets in “Snow White,” where Laufey reveals her struggle to achieve the ideal standard of beauty. Women’s beauty standards are infamously unrealistic, yet so much of one’s societal “worth” is often reliant on how conventionally attractive they are. Snow White is a famous example of beauty, being the “fairest of them all.” Laufey uses her as a metaphor for the over-idealistic appearance society demands.
“Castle in Hollywood” reflects on losing a friend and the resulting emotions, even after “30 months have come and gone.” The castle serves as a metaphor to communicate an imaginary safe place — a bond between the two that felt magical. By leaving the friendship, the castle is left behind, marking a key turning point associated with growing up.
One of the most well-executed tracks on the album, “Carousel” discusses how crowded life can feel and the fear that comes with letting someone into your life when everything seems like a whirlwind. The music moves up and down, akin to an actual carousel. The lyrics bring melancholy to life, evoking memories of carnivals and the accompanying feeling of youth.
“Silver Lining” reflects on being able to let your “inner child” come out around someone in a relationship, further exemplifying the themes of maturing into adulthood. It explores the difficulties that can be faced in a relationship and how, even at the lowest points, Laufey commits herself to the lover in question.
“Too Little, Too Late” is one of the core songs of the album. Laufey said that rather than being written from her own perspective, it explores yearning through the eyes of a man. Filled with intense emotions, especially longing and regret, the song leaves the listener reflecting on their past and those they may have lost along the way while having to accept that those parts of their life are over.
The eighth song, “Cuckoo Ballet — Interlude,” is a beautiful classical-jazz instrumental that ties Laufey’s past and current work together. It references Sergei Prokofiev’s “Cinderella” with a ticking clock and touches on Laufey’s background as a classical cellist. “Cuckoo Ballet” contains musical callbacks to “Lover Girl” and “Carousel,” bringing the first half of the album to a close.
A love letter to Iceland and inspired by her Icelandic identity, “Forget-Me-Not” personifies the country Laufey left behind after she immigrated to the United States to pursue her musical career. At first, the lyrics sound like a love letter to a person, but looking deeper, one can see it’s about her homeland. Featuring lyrics in both English and Icelandic, the song merges her old life with her new one, with the Icelandic lyrics translating to “Don’t forget me, even though I’m leaving / I love you, I’ll love you forever,” showcasing how deeply connected she still feels to Iceland.
One of the sharper tracks on the album, “Tough Luck,” has Laufey talking to a toxic person from her past and standing up to someone who thought they could use her. She talks about how the addressee has a “frail ego” and how they tell Laufey she will “never understand the things that make a man a man,” both common motifs of toxic masculinity. The song exhibits an angry tone, a stark contrast from the majority of the album, and goes through a lyrical breakdown as Laufey confidently fights back.
“A Cautionary Tale” warns about the struggles of being a people pleaser and giving too much of yourself to another person at the cost of your own health and well-being. This song also incorporates several motifs of time and fate, including describing a smashed hourglass to represent breaking a curse and ticking clocks to signify the impending end inherent in all relationships.
In the upbeat “Mr. Eclectic,” Laufey pokes fun at a man with performative tendencies who talks a big game but whose actions are empty. Here, Laufey is no longer fooled by surface presentations and reveals “Mr. Eclectic” for who he really is: A self-centered patronizer who believes himself better than everyone else. It’s almost a parallel to “Tough Luck” — standing up to someone shallow and self-centered, filled with wit rather than anger.
“Clean Air” begins to bring the album toward closure, returning to a lighter tone. Like “Forget-Me-Not,” this song is inspired by Iceland. Clearing the air and looking to the future, the song acknowledges the struggles faced by the singer. However, it carries the hopeful message of moving forward and understanding that things will get better now that she’s learned not to put up with the toxic behaviors from her past relationships.
“Sabotage” addresses Laufey’s insecurities and fear of making irreversible mistakes, singing how “It’s only a matter of time” before she destroys a relationship with her fears. With sharp instrumentals including dissonant chords and harmonical cacophonies to represent overwhelming anxiety, Laufey beautifully depicts the struggle that can come with having self-sabotaging tendencies.
“Seems Like Old Times,” originally recorded by Guy Lombardo’s orchestra and Don Rodney in 1945, was released as a bonus track two days after the initial release of the album. Laufey’s cover takes a more elegant spin on the original track, creating a truly memorable version that brings the album to a beautiful end. It leaves the listener reflecting on their own past, relationships and growth as they are wrapped in the comforting tune of an older song.
“A Matter of Time” seamlessly blends a beautiful saga of love and vulnerability with both old and new sounds from Laufey. While not all the experimental elements are equally good, no faults outshined the accomplishments. It’s reasonable to expect that we’ll get to see more of this outreach and experimentation in her future works. After all, it’s only a matter of time before we’ll get to hear more.
