Laufey<\/a>, the Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter who has become one Gen Z\u2019s chief flag-waver for throwback pop, is largely attributable to her abundant talent. She has a sculptural alto that easily curves into her heart-on-sleeve lyrics, a knack for marrying 21st-century problems with fishhook melodies that recall standards from previous centuries, and a keen sense for framing those vocal lines in arrangements that highlight the tensions lurking underneath.<\/p>\n\n\tShe\u2019s also a product of her time, when critical masses in pop can develop away from the expected places. TikTok has the lipsync-showcase app Musical.ly in its DNA, and cuts from old Broadway hits, honky-tonk jukeboxes, and avant-garde composers can bubble into its trending-music lists. Pop styles that are adjacent to classical and jazz have also had their moments; Encanto <\/em>track \u201cWe Don\u2019t Talk About Bruno\u201d became the second Disney-musical-borne song to hit Number One in 2022, while the likes of Frozen <\/em>and Hamilton<\/em> have become part of the contemporary pop firmament in ways other chart-toppers of recent vintage haven\u2019t. And even though music education\u2019s existence has felt perilous in the wake of arts-hostile budget cutting around the U.S., new generations still want to study it, whether they\u2019re learning violin or Ableton.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tOn\u00a0her third album, Laufey dives into the idea of falling in love, coming to grips with the ways that early-days fun can contort itself into, as she sings on the anxious closing track, \u201ccold, bloody, bitter sabotage.\u201d It opens on a hopeful note: A choir trills \u201cding, dong\u201d at the outset of \u201cClockwork,\u201d a close-up view at how first-date jitters can settle into full-on romance. Laufey\u2019s full-bodied alto handles the song\u2019s brief beautifully, her voice darting nervously at first then blossoming into a full-bore croon as she becomes more assured. But it\u2019s not all sunshine and rainbows: \u201cSnow White\u201d stares into the abyss of insecurities about \u201call the ways\/I failed myself, I failed the world all the same,\u201d strings swelling into the mix as her frustration with herself grows; \u201cCarousel\u201d is part music-box fantasia, part apology to someone who viewed Laufey\u2019s life from a too-adjacent angle.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tAs A Matter of Time<\/em> continues, the slights and irritations pile up. \u201cForget-Me-Not\u201d \u2014 which includes some lyrics in Icelandic \u2014 opens gently, Laufey sounding exhausted as she counts off her regrets, then expands as Laufey\u2019s frustrations mount enough for her to begin singing in Icelandic. The quick-stepping \u201cA Cautionary Tale\u201d feels like a race against a cosmic clock, Laufey\u2019s impassioned vocal adding urgency to the idea of a relationship having an inevitable time limit. \u201cMr. Eclectic\u201d uses piano twinkles and unexpected naturals to underscore the irritation with a \u201dgrandiose thinker\u201d who\u2019s \u201cjust a stoner patronizing\u201d Laufey, unfolding into a sweet bossa nova as Laufey asserts herself on the chorus. (Laufey\u2019s sighed \u201cOh, what a poser,\u201d backed by increasingly menacing string tremolos, seems made for TikToks a la the chorus of Lorde\u2019s \u201cMan of the Year.\u201d)\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\tThe closing track \u201cSabotage\u201d begins in stripped-down fashion then ends in upheaval, strings trembling and drums rumbling, a choir moaning \u201cah\u201d in harmony as strings crash and a trumpet bays. It ends abruptly, and if the album loops (which in the streaming era it very well might), the listener hears those opening \u201cding-dong\u201ds again, implying a perpetual cycle of limerence, love, and loss \u2014 a tale as old as time, no matter what style of song might be attached.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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