Singer-songwriter Laufey is no stranger to love and all its foolish tendencies. In her new deluxe release, A Matter of Time: The Final Hour, she explores the addictiveness of toxic love and subsequent self-sabotage with her classic jazz-pop style.
While I’ve been a devoted listener for years, I’ve noticed that with every new song, Laufey has begun to fall victim to her familiar formula. Her discography consists of slow tempos with her chocolately-smooth vocals, as well as more upbeat tracks with clear jazz influence. While the music is still, without a doubt, fantastic, the melodies are becoming more difficult to distinguish.
Thankfully, the first track, “Madwoman,” is a wonderfully eclectic mix of bossa nova, pop, and indie. The backing sound reminds me of a whimsical carnival—the inclusion of a triangle and organ creates a sound unique from most of her other tracks. The song is incredibly catchy as well: she sings, “But there’s something so vexing ‘bout you / It’s like the gods above us don’t approve” in a rapidly-paced manner. She yearns for the man she knows she shouldn’t accept, but as the tempo displays, she’s forever tantalized.
The track ends with a snazzy instrumental outro, highlighting the gleeful rush of running after love. It reminds me of Olivia Rodrigo’s “bad idea right?”, but in a swing jazz style. It’s the perfect prelude to the rest of the deluxe.
In “How I Get,” Laufey returns to her signature sound, but with a twist. While the track is calm in nature, it carries a deceptive tone—a violin plays an eerie descending note after the first verse, plunging the ballad into a theme of overt desire and greed. I believe it’s the sister song to “Sabotage.” Instead, the chaos is substituted for sorrow.
In the second verse, she holds up a mirror, seeing only who she has become after chasing unrequited love: “Biting more than I can chew / Just so I’ll feel warmer / What a greedy, hungry horror am I.” In her obsession, she loses herself despite her normal rationality, displaying the dizzying effect of love. It’s a beautiful yet downcast interpretation. Additionally, as the harmony lyrics say, her desperation is not for a person, but music: “The pendulum swings back around / I need more tempo, crave more sound.”
“I Wait, I Wait, I Wait” and “I’ll Forget About You (In Time)” are both simple in composition but remain impactful. Each song takes on a negative, mournful tone, focusing on the devastation during and after falling out of a relationship. While “I Wait, I Wait, I Wait” paints the picture of a romance souring, “I’ll Forget About You (In Time)” illustrates Laufey hoping to move on from her partner but ultimately failing.
One of my favorite lyrics from this deluxe is featured in “I Wait, I Wait, I Wait:” “You didn’t do this, just me in the music / Spinning evermore / The price of a cynic is joy for just a minute / Nothing to live for.” By living solely in her head, Laufey gives up her loved ones. She says her passion may be too strong for others, following the same narrative as the films Whiplash and Black Swan.
At first, I thought these final tracks were inconclusive. Although the ending lyric suggests foreshadowing for Laufey’s next project (“I’ll forget about him, won’t I?”), The Final Hour ends the A Matter of Time era on a discordant note. In place of a lasting breath, Laufey leaves listeners with an unnerving sigh, not yet concluding the mess.
Even so, with further thought, I’ve come to appreciate the somewhat nonlinear nature of the deluxe. With these four songs, Laufey displays the best and worst of love, rising and falling in jagged storylines. A Matter of Time: The Final Hour may not be the most melodically challenging addition, but the creative lyrics and fitting orchestration more than make up for the lack.
