Known for her lush orchestral arrangements and storytelling steeped in romance and nostalgia, Laufey’s new album marks a subtle but striking evolution.

The Grammy-winning instrumentalist returns with “A Matter of Time,” a record that quietly dismantles the fairytale castle she has long sung within. In its place rises something more intimate, raw, and achingly human — yet still undeniably Laufey (pronounced lay-vay) with her signature blend of jazz influences, old-world charm, and contemporary sensibilities. This time, though, the castle doors are flung wide open, welcoming new sounds that broaden her artistry. The result is an invitation to step deeper into her truth, all without losing the magic at its core.

“I’m constantly thinking about classical and jazz, how to properly preserve them and pay homage,” said Laufey in an official press statement, explaining how, for this album, she continues to crystallize her signature sound while also noting her desire to create something different.

“I just wanted to let my heart wander. People expect a pretty façade of girly clothes, fantastical stories, and romantic music. This time, I was interested in seeing how I could draw out the most flawed parts of myself and look at them directly in the mirror,” she added, on experimenting with possibilities, bending and twisting like an acrobat as she explores heavier themes and sonic arrangements we’ve never heard in her catalogue before. She teamed up with a pair of co-producers to bring her concept to life. Steven Spencer, who worked with her on her first two albums, bringing that comforting and familiar sound we’ve come to know and love, and Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter), a newer partner but one who has been known to help artist revolutionize their sound.

While love remains as the core theme of the album, similar to her previous records like “Everything I Know About Love” (2022) and “Bewitched” (2023), “A Matter of Time” feels sonically unrestrained, mimicking the experience of authentic love, from the sweet beginnings and heartbreaking endings to the bittersweet epilogues and everything in between. 

First Listen: Laufey Measures Love and Life in Minutes

“A Matter of Time” sounds as gorgeous as its art cover, with 14 tracks including a sweeping orchestral interlude that provides a lovely break in the middle of the record. After a first listen to all of the songs, we can say that this is Laufey at her most daring and playful, which either manifests in the sound or her lyrics.

She welcomed listeners with “Clockwork,” an aptly named track that matched the record’s name, which sings about catching feelings for someone close to you, like a friend, as the song suggests. It’s a clever play on the imagery of a clockwork to portray that sense of inevitability, which is coupled with her vulnerable lyrics highlighting feelings of anxiousness and fear of ruining the friendship. Here, we get a first glimpse into the dark clouds shadowing the album.

The further we dive into the music, the more shadows follow us through the halls. We imagined this album to be like a forgotten castle in the woods, dilapidated but still standing majestic against time. Its honesty is unfiltered, but somehow the artist remains poised in revealing these chipped pieces of truth through glorious music. 

“Snow White” is the most emotional and stripped-down song on the record. The singer opens up about her insecurities and how she’s affected by society’s beauty standards, singing lines that say, “The world is a sick place, at least for a girl. The people want beauty; skinny always wins. And I don't have enough of it. I'll never have enough of it.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Laufey revealed, “It was written at this moment where I just felt like how I look or how my body is mattered more than my brain, and that’s a really disgusting feeling. I realized when I’m feeling bad about myself, no one can really talk me out of it.”

In “Carousel,” she captures the chaos fame has brought into her life. The song opens with a warning, “My life is a circus. Hold on for all I bring with me,” before unraveling her flaws through circus imagery. Set to a romantic waltz that mimics a carousel’s tune, it trades childhood wonder for raw honesty, showing the beauty of revealing one’s true self and hoping to be accepted. Lines like, “You signed up for one hell of a one-man show. Tangled in ribbons, a lifelong role. Aren't you sorry that you fell? Onto this carousel,” perfectly capture that emotion.

“Castle in Hollywood” is a standout track, and is something we haven’t heard from the artist before. It’s a lot more upbeat with a quick acoustic progression that leans towards a more pop-country sound. Co-produced with Aaron Dessner, Laufey reflects on a past friendship with this track, proving that friend breakups are just as devastating, if not worse, as romantic ones.

The retro lounge track, “Silver Lining,” stands out as one of our favorites on the record, simply because her vocals shine here. The love song captures the reckless and all-consuming nature of love, where even bad habits or lust feel worth it if shared with the right person. Although the lyrics invoke dark imagery, such as punishment, hell, and sin, the sweetness of the melody reframes them, turning them into a promise: no matter what happens, we’ll go down together.

Laufey delivers a track from the male perspective in “Too Little, Too Late,” which showcases the writer’s ability to tell a personal tale even from an outsider’s point of view. This emotional track crescendos all throughout, which caused us listeners to hold our breaths, anticipating what happens next as the story unfolds. The soaring music successfully mirrors that feeling of being consumed by regret and how it starts small but swells and spreads until it consumes every part of you. The song then climaxes into a dramatic and devastating end: a wedding scene, where the man realizes he had lost the love of his life for good.

The second part of the record serves up more experimental music, such as “Tough Luck,” which has a more pop sound, but is woven in with those familiar orchestral strings in the background. The upbeat track mimics the singer’s resentment, showing how an angry or bitter side of you can easily be brought out by being with the wrong person. This narrative continues in “A Cautionary Tale,” where Laufey reflects on a draining relationship and how it has changed her. In the opening verse, she warns her next lover: “Oh, heavens, hear my story, a cautionary tale. Of how I came to be loved, and how it came to fail. A first time for lovers, a first time in agony. The truths you will uncover will knock you on your knees.”

In the album’s second and twelfth tracks, Laufey returns to the bossa nova-inspired stylings of her earlier hits like “From the Start.” These are the most upbeat and fun-sounding songs in the compilation, easily becoming fan-favorites. While the former sings about the funny way the tables have turned — transforming Laufey from a "never-fall-in-love" kind of girl into a lovesick “Lover Girl” — the latter, “Mr. Eclectic,” pokes fun at performative males, when she encounters a suitor who is pretentious and insufferable, more than he tries to be impressive.

Laufey shared during a live performance of “Clean Air” that she wrote it over the holidays in Iceland, and how it was to be taken literally as the country’s air was really clean, but also metaphorically, as it also described feeling down because of the dark winter atmosphere, but also hopeful for the new year. The song captures that situation of resetting yourself to face the world anew.

The album ends on an unexpected high note with “Sabotage,” which we believe was aptly placed in the lineup and encapsulates the record’s sense of chaos in a hypnotizing and spine-chilling melody. The interesting part about it was the angry strings, which at first was a jump scare, but after another round of listening, we realized it perfectly evokes the feeling of being sabotaged — how it creeps up on you when you least expect it. We also love how Laufey was able to complete a love story timeline, having sung about falling, being, and falling out of love, to regretting it, and now feeling betrayed to the point that it makes you angry and pushes you to the edge of sanity. This song is definitely different, with a creepy undertone as Laufey warns her love to “prepare for the impact.” It then reaches its peak with a loud instrumental storm before suddenly sabotaging itself by ending abruptly.

Final Verdict

Listening to “A Matter of Time” was definitely an experience. As casual Laufey listeners, we have always known her music to be on the gentler side with an old-school sound coupled with modern lyrics that sing about romance, yearning, and heartbreak. This record opened our eyes to a different side of the artist, showing us that more than her ability to revive classic sounds, she can also be raw and unapologetically human with her music. So in terms of expanding her artistry and delivering something new, we believe the singer has done a great job.

While some songs blurred into the background for being too similar to her previous releases, such as “Clockwork,” “Forget-Me-Not,” and “Carousel,” the bolder, more experimental tracks like “Sabotage” and  “Castle in Hollywood” gave this record an edge that shows us how expansive Laufey’s music can be.

The recurring motif of time was also very cleverly infused in each track,  which can either be taken literally or metaphorically. For example, “Too Little, Too Late” likened love to a ticking clock that eventually runs out, while “Clockwork” describes the inevitability of falling for someone. Words and phrases like “overdue,” “countdown,” “spend hours and days,” and even “it’s just a matter of time” are also littered across the record.

Safe to say that this is one of Laufey’s most well-compiled and produced albums yet, and we expect fans and new listeners would agree. Have a listen here:

Laufey is currently touring North America and will soon be in Europe, bringing “A Matter of Time” to life on stage. She will also be taking her jazz and bossa nova tunes to the desert in April 2026 as a performer at Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

For more information, visit her website or follow Laufey on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Instagram.