In my almost 21 years on this Earth, I don’t think I’ve found anyone who is able to capture falling in love quite like Laufey. Pronounced LAY-vay, the 24 year-old jazz-pop singer-songwriter has 14 million monthly listeners on Spotify with only 2 studio records, one of which won her her first Grammy. Her albums, Everything I Know About Love and Bewitched are a kaleidoscope of longing, heartbreak, confusion, and joy. She pines, ponders, and problematizes the intricacies of love and what it means to be in a relationship and out of one. Her melancholic melodies and honeyed vocals are a muddled cocktail of emotion, garnished with ravishingly raw lyricism. In the age of sharing music with significant others as a form of connection, Laufey’s entire discography could be sent to a lover with no context, and the music would speak for itself. I don’t know much about love, other than I may be falling into it as I write this article, but I feel every beat of her heart in the chords and every tear she’s ever shed within the notes. From the wistful lust of a crush to the tedious happenings of a relationship, the highs, the lows, and the grey areas, Laufey paints the portrait of love boldly.
Here are my favorite tracks from each album and the reasoning behind my love for them!
From Everything I Know About Love:
- “Beautiful Stranger” – This song is for my yolo girlies. If there’s one area I have made it a goal to grow into this past year, it would be doing what I want and not apologizing for it. I play the “What’s the worst that can happen?” game 24/7 because at the end of the day, the worst thing that could happens often isn’t that bad after all. This song reminisces on that idea and the possibility hiding behind a longing glance on the train. “What if I would’ve stayed on the train?/Dared to stand up and ask for his name?/Maybe we would have exchanged a few words/A fairytale moment could have occurred.” Do it-whatever that is, whatever is scaring you-be vulnerable because something really special will most likely come of it.
- “Valentine” – This song is special to me as my relationship with Valentine’s Day has recently changed. Forever, I saw the holiday as a day to get through, a day to stay off of social media, and a day where I couldn’t wait to go to sleep in the evening. Laufey discusses the confusion she faces in the midst of a budding relationship and how quickly everything came to fruition. Some could say I was in a similar situation this year. My favorite part is when she sings, “He tells me I’m pretty/Don’t know how to respond/I tell him that he’s pretty too/Can I say that?/Don’t have a clue.” I think it is a perfect representation of a first love and having absolutely no freaking idea what is right and what is wrong. Although it’s all confusing, I’ve come to learn that there are no rules and I am focusing on doing what feels right for me in my heart at the time. This song is now a sweet reminder of that sentiment.
- “Above The Chinese Restaurant” – I don’t have a particular tie to this song other than it is just a beautiful melody and nostalgic to me in ways I don’t quite understand. This song is an ode to a past lover and how tender her memories with them were. I love it because it is a reflection on appreciating what you have in the moment, even if everything isn’t perfect, because it could all be swept away in the future. “Didn’t realize we had it all/Even when the roof came caving in that fall/Oh, I loved you more than you know/Covered in the flakes of crystal white snow.”
- “Falling Behind” – It always seemed as if I was behind everyone my age, especially in the dating realm. I knew I was doing everything right for myself, yet I questioned the universe, “Why not me?” for far too long. Laufey writes about this pain, “I’m only getting older/I’ve never had a shoulder to cry on/Someone to call mine/Everybody’s falling in love and I’m falling behind.” Reflecting on when I was younger, the pain and envy I experienced were necessary for me to grow into who I am today. Trusting time has, in turn, served me better than I ever could’ve imagined.
From Bewitched:
- “While You Were Sleeping” – Aside from this track being the title of one of my favorite rom coms starring Sandra Bullock, this song is a love note to the intoxicating feeling of falling in love. Laufey captures how the new feelings are strange and maddening and it feels like you aren’t in control of yourself, writing, “I don’t recognize myself/I’m dancing down streets/Smiling to strangers/Idiotic things/I trace it all back, three-thirty AM/That night, something turned in my heart/While you were sleeping, I fell in love.” #relatable.
- “California and Me” – I can’t relate to this one, but god, does it hurt! Laufey writes about her past lover who left her for an old flame. The raw emotion expressed in the lyrics as well as the Philharmonia’s accompaniment is truly heartbreaking. “Could’ve fought for you/But I just let you leave/Hurt too much to consider/You didn’t love me.” I can’t even convey the beauty of this song through words, you have to give it a listen to experience the wealth of emotion within its composure.
- “Promise” – This one makes me giggle and cry because it’s so damn relatable. After going no contact with an ex, Laufey writes, “So I didn’t call you/For sixteen long days/And I should get a cigarette/For so much restraint/No matter how long I resist temptation/I will always lose/It hurts to be something/It’s worse to be nothing with you.” Time is a fickle thing and I feel that the process of healing always extends time, or rather slows it down so excruciatingly that two weeks feels like two years. The last line, in the most painful way that hits right where it hurts, feels like a lose/lose situation, when being with someone hurts just as much as not being with them at all.
- “From The Start” – You have probably heard this song on the internet if you haven’t heard anything else from her. When Rachel had me as a guest on her Falcon Radio Show, I spoke a little bit about this song and how it perfectly captures the questions that come with having a crush on someone new. “What’s a girl to do?/Lying on my bed, staring into the bluе/Unrequited, terrifying/Lovе is driving me a bit insane.” Listen to the radio show here! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o1yNABv5r-6cxWUaOggXYIv-kvjlCJzu/view?usp=sharing
- “Bewitched” – Finally, the title track and the last track on the album, this song feels like I am in Alice and Wonderland or Cinderella. It is truly magical- and I guess you could say the same about being in love. “You’re not even gone/I already miss you/What’s going on?/I’ve never been through/This all-consuming fire fuming/Cursing at the moon and losing all control and crying/’Cause I think I’m falling/You bewitched me/From the first time that you kissed me.” Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed about that fairytale moment of a first kiss, and adulthood has taught me that it’s not always like that, but sometimes you get lucky and that spark is truly magical.
My favorite single is “Let You Break My Heart Again” from Laufey and the Philharmonia Orchestra and my favorite collab she has done is “A Night to Remember” with beabadoobee.
If you are a lover girl (or guy) give Laufey a chance, and discover the emotions you didn’t even know you felt or know how to put into words, written out just beautifully for you.
From one hopeful romantic to the next,
Much love x