Hi, everyone. four o'clock here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Laufey album, A Matter of Time.

Icelandic singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, Laufey has returned with her third full-length LP, one that follows her 2023 Grammy Award-winning breakout album, Bewitched, a record that not only blew her up, but put her in a lane of her own.

I don't know if you guys have taken a look at the modern music landscape out these days. But there's not a whole lot of voices out there making a name for themselves doing traditional pop, vocal jazz, cheeky Bossa Nova tunes. Something you have to respect, because it's a sound that Laufey really took a risk on and somehow made it growing a passionate fan base for what she does on platforms like TikTok. And her popularity has blown up so big, it's now become this big joke and broad scale discussion that liking her music is the peak of male performativity.

Personally, though, I have had a hard time giving into the Laufey hype train because while in one breath, I do like that Laufey's stuff is providing a gateway into worlds of music that are often overlooked. But in another breath, I personally don't feel like she is a high-tier example of any of the styles of music she operates in. To my ears, the instrumentals on Bewitched sounded like what you would get from a group of first-year music majors at the college of your choice.

On this new LP, though, Laufey still finds herself working with songwriter and producer, Spencer Stewart. With this tracklist, she clearly set out to explore beyond the jazzy ballad she is usually known for. She even teamed up with the National's Aaron Dessner for a track, too.

And generally, I do think the production on this thing is a noticeable step up from Bewitched. The instrumentation, the performances are a lot less dry, plain, and stiff. There are more musical details laced into these tracks, too. They are more lush. I still wouldn't say this project is going to be a jazz snob's preferred listen, but the lack of chops is mostly made up for by just how pretty and ornate many of the songs on here are.

I think those slight changes help further define Laufey's sound, along with what I think she's doing lyrically on this record, too, because not only is she approaching with some unlikely stories and song topics here and there, but she's also getting a bit more biting and nasty with her word choices, tossing in a casual swear or two, or with tracks like "Silver Lining", telling the story of a couple that are maybe bad or more or less doomed in a way. But the bright side of no matter what they face, whether it be heaven or hell, is going to be that they will be there together.

There is also "Mr. Eclectic", a track where Laufey is just roasting the hell out of some pretentious dude over some Bossa Nova chords and grooves. The song "Tough Luck" serves as another dump-him anthem, where she's going over a lot of this guy's terrible personality traits with some pretty interesting details, mentioning him having been with an actress before her, which gets specific.

So yeah, on quite a few tracks from this record, Laufey does address the topic of love, which she has been known to, but this time she's really exploring hard the downsides of it, whether it's on the song "Lover Girl", which is another highlight for me, where she goes into the many downsides of this personality trait. And then there's also "Carousel", where she seems to be in love with this guy. It's reciprocal, but simultaneously, she can't help but be apologetic about this romance because she is remorseful about the craziness of her life this guy is going to be whipped up into now that he's with her.

There's most certainly a rawness and a tragedy to the writing on this record that has seen an exponential increase since Bewitched. Here and there throughout the record, it does make for an interesting juxtaposition given just how pretty and idyllic a lot of the instrumentation on this album is. Almost to a fault, I would dare say, though, because still on this album, I think there is a lack of accuracy when it comes to preserving and celebrating the sounds and styles of music that so very clearly influence Laufey.

But now, rather than just simply getting a pale imitation of those styles like we did on Bewitched, we're getting this big budget string-kissed Disney film soundtrack version. I mean, there's a straight up orchestral interlude right in the middle of this record, one that brings back some key melodies from other songs on the album. And again, it feels less like I'm listening to a genuine portrayal of some old-school music, jazz, otherwise, and more like I'm getting some fantastical retelling that's super theatrical of the styles, like I'm just five chapters into a fairy tale.

This is just not a direction that, personally, I am all that crazy about. Even if I can acknowledge that I think Laufey's voice does fit into these beds of instrumentation pretty nicely, or maybe what I actually mean to say is that it feels familiar, because it does sound like I'm listening to a character in a film of some sort, especially when we get to tracks like "Snow White", a song that's really hard to glean much from given that the perspective of it doesn't really, I think, make complete sense, because obviously the song overall is about body image issues, yes. But we see simultaneously on this track, Laufey lamenting the impossible beauty standards set by culture at large. But then also lyrics about her own personal struggles with body dysmorphia, where despite being beautiful, she can't seem to accept that or see what others see in her. Again, it just feels like there is a disconnect there between the ideas of I'm being beaten down by the standards that the world is forcing upon me, or I'm actually meeting those standards, but I'm refusing to let it go in my own head and I'm giving myself a hard time. I feel like we're just mixing both of those and just presuming that most listeners are going to be familiar with at least one of these feelings and just calling it a day.

There are other head-scratchers deeper into the tracklist, like the very drab, slow, Disney Princess dirge of "Forget Me Not", the Aaron Dessner track that I mentioned earlier, which sticks out like a sore thumb in the tracklist, just instrumentally sounds like a Taylor Swift B-side. And as critical as I am of the jazz three-pointers Laufey is often trying to shoot, she does a much better job of that than whatever she is attempting here with Aaron.

There's also "Clean Air", which is a bit of a country number and frankly is downright adorable. And then there's also "Sabotage", which I could see conceptually what is going on here because you have Laufey tying this record up with her essentially admitting to being the saboteur of many a romantic relationship. The production on the track is almost sabotaging the song itself with what essentially feels like these very rough, aggressive string section jump scares, which, again, I can see the intent behind them, but they don't make the song any more appealing or exciting. Still, it does feel a bit odd to end this record off with this admission, given that a lot of the terrible things going on in the relationships described on these tracks are often happening to Laufey. But then at the end of the album, she's pulling out a metaphorical dagger of sorts.

Look, overall, I did enjoy a handful of tracks from this record, and I can most certainly acknowledge that this time around we are getting some noticeably more expensive and more colorful production and instrumentation. But still, I didn't really come away enjoying this album any more than I did Bewitched, because I feel like I'm listening to the animated film-ification of some pretty foundational American styles of music with a bit of Bossa Nova mixed in there, too.

I don't think that just becomes interesting by virtue of adding some darker, moodier storytelling or edgier lyrics here and there. I'm still pretty unenthused with this one, honestly, which is why I'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6 on this album.

Anthony Fantano, Laufey, forever.