Here’s a perfect explanation of Laufey’s latest album, A Matter of Time. She opened her dazzling concert in L.A. singing, “My head’s a wild place, I’ve considered every way.” Minutes flew by, and we cried along as her tragic love stories unraveled.
Way back in April of 2020, a new voice appeared on hundreds of screens. Laufey. Her very first single, “Street by Street” grew her TikTok fame and loyal audience. Over the next couple of years, she released her debut album Everything I Know About Love (2022), and her Grammy-winning album Bewitched (2023). Throughout her music, Laufey addresses relatable yet sensitive subjects like naïve love and teenage insecurities, uniting her eclectic genre and fan base.
It’s been years since I heard her voice for the first time. Her performance at the Crypto.com Arena felt like I was “moving up into a cloud, into my fantasy,” like she sang in her song “Dreamer” from her sophomore album, Bewitched. I got tickets for September 26 as an early birthday gift (it was the only way I could justify spending so much money), and she didn’t disappoint.
Almost immediately, one of her songs left its mark on me: “Let You Break My Heart Again.” It captures just what overthinking to the point of self-destruction feels like.
This side of her that she emphasizes in her music, endlessly daydreaming and constantly escaping into her fantasies, resonated with me. Her bossa-nova songs show a situation where a girl overcomplicates the tiniest details, going over every possible scenario in her mind. In my room, angry at no one in particular, I drifted away singing, “I don’t even think that you care like I do / I should stop.”
While listening to the album for the first time, I heard a familiar orchestra and was instantly attached to “Too Little, Too Late.” With the tempo gradually increasing until she’s finally run out of time, she captured that familiar feeling of desperation.
Everyone has regrets. A foolish mistake that could’ve changed your life. After constant overthinking, there’s a point where it’s okay to give up, and “lay down my sword for fate,” as mentioned in the song.
It sounds unrelated, but her fashion sense means a lot to me. As kids, we all heard the phrase “you run like a girl.” At an early age, we became embarrassed about playing with dolls. Bows were “too childish.” Shame came with doing “girlier” things for no reason.
Laufey isn’t ashamed to wear bows and dress like a princess, so why should we?
She encourages both girls and boys to show off their feminine side. Her dreamy, hopeless-romantic music is beloved by all.
“Real men listen to Laufey” was proudly worn on many t-shirts at the concert. Even though she’s poked fun at those “performative men” (who arrived at her show drinking matcha and flaunting their empty tote bags), the album is for everyone.
Sitting back in my concert seat, feeling every key and every dramatic drumbeat in “Promise,” I looked around me. Two best friends, a girl and her dad, and hundreds of equally dramatic people were singing this song just as passionately as I was. I can’t say it’s because we all knew what it was like being an Icelandic popstar experiencing heartbreak, but we did know the feeling of hearing the low piano introduction for the first time.
When it comes to a miserable romance, Laufey’s got you. We’ve all gone through a moment where we wished for a clean slate, a specific moment wiped from our minds, just blank.
Nothing can be erased from your memory. So as Laufey would say, “Why can’t I let go of this?”
