Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey (pronounced “LAY-vay”) Lín Jónsdóttir, known by the mononym Laufey, released her sophomore album on September 8, unleashing into the world a torrent of emotional masterpieces. The 24-year-old artist combines pop, jazz, and bossa nova styles to entice listeners from all generations. Through her work, Laufey aims to revive the art of jazz for today’s youth, and I have no doubt that her new album, “Bewitched”, is a giant leap towards achieving her goal.
The subsequent text is my song-by-song review of “Bewitched”:
The first track of Laufey’s sophomore album, “Dreamer”, greets the listener with an ethereal layering of vocals reminiscent of The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman”. A smooth piano and then a soft percussion line join in to build the song up to an upbeat narrative about being in love with love in spite of a hopeless, never-ending cycle of doomed romances.
The wisely placed second track, “Second Best”, is more representative of the general tone of the album; it’s a heartbreaking ballad about an unrequited love for someone in love with another. Laufey croons, “I loved you so much / That I settled for less / Oh, you were my everything / I was your second best.”
The third track, “Haunted”, is a demonstration of Laufey’s versatility- she effortlessly combines her signature orchestral sound with a syncopated beat and timeless lyrics of a doomed love to craft a sexy bossa nova song.
In “Must Be Love” and “While You Were Sleeping”, Laufey sings alongside a guitar about the joys of being in love- the daydreaming, the sappy smiles, the longing stares- a much needed refrain from the tales of unrequited love.
“Lovesick” stood out to me immediately, starting with an angsty guitar that grows in its complexity to accompany lyrics of yearning so potent that Laufey describes it as an almost physical malady. A sudden cutoff makes room for an explosively-emotional chorus, one that has earned this song a permanent place on my playlist of songs to scream-sing in the car while I delude myself into thinking that Betty (my lovely car) is soundproof. “Lovesick” is one of the more pop-like songs on the album, following a Taylor Swift-esque pattern of verses and choruses.
After acquiring a solid following, Laufey chose to use this album to explore her classical roots. In “California and Me”, Laufey partners with the Philharmonia Orchestra to write a second piece about getting left behind by a lover running back to an “old flame”. Laufey’s emotional turmoil is multiplied by the Orchestra’s masterfully executed dynamics, the swooping effect of the volume dragging the listener along for the ride.
After “”California and Me”, Laufey does something that sets her apart from other contemporary artists of our generation- she includes a completely instrumental piece, “Nocturne (Interlude)”. The interlude recalls recognizable themes from the album’s earlier pieces, including the chorus from “Lovesick” pecked out on the piano like a children’s lullaby. The isolated piano gives the audience an opportunity to enjoy all of Laufey’s musical gifts, and the classical piece draws in a new audience to Laufey’s work, musically bridging the gap between generations.
“Promise” brings back the theme of the painful inevitability of love falling apart. Laufey sings, “No matter how long I resist temptation / I will always lose / It hurts to be something / It’s worse to be nothing with you”. I sat in my room this week jotting down my honest reactions to hearing the album for the first time, and I certainly had some things to say about this one. Unfortunately, the flood of tears this heart-wrenching ballad yanked from my body blur out what I’m sure was very insightful commentary.
With no small amount of emotional whip-lash, the album’s next song, “From The Start”, gained popularity on TikTok after its release in early May of this year. The upbeat bossa nova garnered a lot of attention for the release of “Bewitched”, with over 110 million streams on Spotify and millions of views on TikTok. Laufey’s most streamed song, “From The Start” describes an unrequited crush over a playful beat. For the first time in this album, Laufey introduces scatting, a typical element of jazz often excluded from today’s music.
Next on the track list is “Misty”, a jazz standard originally composed in 1954 by Erroll Garner with lyrics by Johnny Burke. The incorporation of this revitalized classic fits in so seamlessly with the album that it serves as the perfect olive branch to persuade listeners into joining the jazz-side of music enjoyment.
With “Serendipity”, Laufey somehow manages to craft an oxymoron of a song; the mournful sound of the piano accompanies a story of what feels like destined love. Laufey seems to realize her naivete as she is helpless to stop herself from falling deeply in love.
Laufey’s penultimate track, “A Letter to my 13 Year Old Self”, introduces a new type of love: self-love. Laufey sings directly to her younger self: “I’m so sorry that they pick you last / Try to say your foreign name and laugh”. In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Laufey said, “I just wish I could go back and give myself a squeeze and be like, “Hey, look at what we’ve done now.” This healing song serves as an inspiration to everyone to follow their dreams, even when they might seem impossible.
Last on the list is the album’s namesake, “Bewitched”. An orchestral opening, highlighting a harp and flute, creates a sound that you might expect to hear in a ballet or a Disney movie, immediately immersing the audience in a fairytale. Laufey cinches the album with a soothing song of happy-endings and all-consuming love.
Perfect for fans of both classic jazz artists, like Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James, and more modern musicians like Matt Maltese and Emily King, Laufey’s “Bewitched” is sure to have something for everybody. The album reaches the public just in time for fall and is a perfect pairing with the melancholy that comes with letting go of summer, the changing of the leaves and all things pumpkin.
