Laufey performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, 2023. (Tomzorz via Wikimedia Commons)
August 2025 has been a lively month for album releases, with popular artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Blood Orange releasing music. One particularly acclaimed release is Icelandic–Chinese singer Laufey’s jazz-pop album A Matter of Time.
The album is a refreshing reminder of the singer’s classical background, with its vintage mannerisms and rich orchestral sound. Many songs are jazz-infused, as is common in Laufey’s music. The album covers topics of love, self-discovery, and loss – spanning the story of “a young woman unravelling,” as Elle describes. With her rich, breathy, alto voice, Laufey’s singing is distinctively emotive and comforting.
The album covers topics of love, self-discovery, and loss – spanning the story of “a young woman unraveling.”
Portraying comedy through her music is a particular talent of Laufey’s, and she maintains this in A Matter of Time through her witty lyricism and fun subversions of genre. In “Tough Luck,” she racks up creative rhyming insults; in “Clockwork,” the choir trills “ding-dong” to humourise Laufey’s concerns over the passing of time; and in “Mr. Eclectic,” the sweet bossa nova style contrasts her grating irritations with a so-called “grandiose thinker.”
Laufey’s music typically features a winter influence, and this album is no different. The eighth track on the album, the all-instrumental “Cuckoo Ballet – Interlude,” is a contemporary ballet piece, with a Christmassy spin. This piece will certainly become a winter staple as the weather begins to get colder, with its cosy and nostalgic composition, reminiscent of theatrical soundtracks.
The album has been remarkably successful in its reception, debuting at number three on the UK Albums Chart – earning Laufey her first top-ten album in the UK. It received high praise from numerous newspapers and magazines, including a five-star review from The Independent.
“I didn’t think about genre. I was just like, ‘My genre is Laufey. This is a Laufey album.’” – Laufey for Time Magazine
In comparison to Laufey’s prior albums, we have been shown a newer, more maximalist element to her music. One such instance is in the final track, “Sabotage.” The song periodically features a jarring clash of strings, before an abrupt ending. In “Forget-Me-Not,” she introduces a nod to her Icelandic heritage, including some lines in her native language for the first time. These additions express a newfound sense of growth and confidence in Laufey’s music. The singer herself commented that the album feels more authentic. “That was the biggest difference for this album”, she told Time Magazine, “I didn’t think about genre. I was just like, ‘My genre is Laufey. This is a Laufey album.’” And what a beautiful genre it is!
