Album Review: Laufey – A Matter of Time

Clockwork romance unraveled.

Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, best known as Laufey, returns with her third full-length release, A Matter of Time, issued in August 2025 through Vingolf Recordings. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist folds classical, jazz and bossa nova influences into a sound that feels both timeless and stylistically distinct. Spanning fifteen tracks, the album arrived with four lead singles: “Silver Lining,” “Tough Luck,” “Lover Girl” and “Snow White.”

One of the album’s strongest through-lines is its persistent clock imagery. Laufey employs this motif with intention, shaping an emotional arc defined by infatuation, joy, doubt and the quiet fear that even the most magical moments may slip away. Time becomes both catalyst and shadow, its steady tick mirroring the record’s rise and fall. The theme surfaces not only in lyrics but in the album’s aesthetic as well, from the cover art to soft chime-like motifs woven throughout several tracks.

Fan favorites like “Lover Girl” and “Snow White” sit comfortably beside newer standouts, collectively marking some of Laufey’s boldest work to date. The mid-album interlude “Cuckoo Ballet” threads together musical themes from earlier songs as well as motifs from her second album Bewitched. Ballet-like in structure, it glides through sweeping instrumental passages featuring Laufey on cello, before resolving into a delicate vocal section delivered in both English and Icelandic. “Tough Luck” nudges the album toward a more pop-forward sound, while “Sabotage” nods subtly to the classic arc of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” A few stylistic shifts may feel abrupt, but even in these moments, her artistic fingerprints remain unmistakable—intimate, orchestral and rooted in jazz-pop storytelling.

Through its layered symbolism and lush arrangements, A Matter of Time captures both the exhilaration and fragility of falling in love while acknowledging the inevitability of change. Laufey’s signature voice and refined songwriting anchor the album, expressing a wide emotional spectrum with clarity and sensitivity. The result is a record that feels personal yet universal—a warmly crafted work poised to resonate with listeners across generations.