“Otherworldly artist”—TIME
“Laufey’s ascendency to major-league pop artist is one of the most heartening musical phenomena of the last couple of years”—Variety
“Each album she crafts serves as a distinct landmark in her story of evolution –– both as an artist and as a woman” —Billboard Philippines
“She is a musical tour de force” —Los Angeles Times
Today, GRAMMY®-winning Icelandic-Chinese artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Laufey drops “Lover Girl”, the latest single from her highly anticipated forthcoming album, ‘A Matter of Time’, which is coming August 22 via Vingolf Recordings / AWAL. Fans can listen to the song here and watch the lyric video here.
With “Lover Girl”, Laufey invites listeners into the quiet heartbreak of missing someone deeply. Laufey explains, “The hardest part of loving someone is being away from them. This is that story”.
As Laufey began to craft ‘A Matter of Time’, she felt freer than ever. “Every new album for me is a blank book of stories to write,” she says, and it’s true. An artist who pours her life experiences into her work, she infused 2022’s ‘Everything I Know About Love’ with coming-of-age tales revolving around leaving home, and for 2023’s GRAMMY®-winning ‘Bewitched’ she dove headlong into young love. Brought to life with sweeping orchestral arrangements, interwoven strains of bossa nova and jazz, and Laufey’s honeyed alto, those albums cemented Laufey as a star who can make sounds from bygone eras feel timeless.
Now on ‘A Matter of Time’, Laufey further crystalizes her singular sound—one still rooted in her beloved influences, but which forgoes any strict standards or rules. “I’m constantly thinking about classical and jazz, how to properly preserve them and pay homage”. For this album she continues to do so while also noting, “I just wanted to let my heart wander”. To that end, she teamed with a pair of co-producers, one comforting and familiar—Spencer Stewart who worked with Laufey on her first two albums —and one new to her but deeply attuned to artists looking to open up: Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran).
Feeling sonically unrestrained gave Laufey the space to share new sides of herself while exploring sometimes heavier themes. “People expect a pretty façade of girly clothes, fantastical stories, and romantic music,” she says. “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”. ‘A Matter of Time’ finds Laufey at her most daring—and also playful—as she captures the experience of “real love” in its many forms and what it means to observe as it strips you down to your most vulnerable and anxious.
