Photo via Flickr, Gus Phillippas, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED (No Changes Made)
Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, whose stage name is Laufey, is rising to fame on social media as an Icelandic-Chinese jazz singer-songwriter. Her songs like “From The Start” and “Falling Behind” have had a surge of popularity on media apps like Tiktok. Her unique sound and instrument choices make her stand out from other trending artists and give the jazz community, an otherwise disfavored genre, some consideration and attention.
Discography Review
“Typical of Me” EP (2021)
This extended play has no songs that stand out to me, and I think it does not show her full potential as an artist. Listening to this album for the first time, I got to appreciate her special voice and sound. The majority of songs talk about romance and friendships. ‘Typical of Me’ has a romantic ambience to it, with good storytelling and lyrics such as “My eyes rolled to the back of my head, it seemed like the night would never end, at one point I just stopped listening, his voice just became too sickening,” from the song ‘James’. This song stands out to me because she does such a good job of explaining how it feels to fall out of love, as well as how unrealistic expectations can play out into the opposite.
“Everything I Know About Love” (2022)
Compared to her other projects, “Everything I Know About Love” is more sophisticated. This album has a more ethereal and light sound. The songs manage to blend softly sung lyrics into something far more emotional. This album mixes both a jazzy and orchestral feel, full of romantic and intimate imagery. Many songs have common themes that almost contradict each other. For example, she has a song titled “What Love Will Do To You” as well as a song titled “I’ve Never Been In Love Before.” This album frequently revisits the idea of what could’ve been, which I think is a unique idea to Laufey bringing interesting storytelling and styles. My favorite song on the album is “Falling Behind.” This song tells a story of Laufey moving to the city, and finding that everyone around her is getting into relationships and falling in love. The chorus being “Everyone’s falling in love and I’m falling behind” is very creative and original. While this song could be improved on vocally, it really shows her range and the lyrics are exceptional.
“Bewitched” (2023)
As “Bewitched” is her third album, I can truly see the growth in her songwriting and tone. Laufey’s most popular song, “From The Start” is also on this album. The instrumentals and vocals on this song are calming, yet still have deeper meanings. “From The Start” incorporates humor and tranquil lyrics that give a bolder sense of her feelings. The song ‘Lovesick’ goes outside her normal jazz genre and has more of a pop upbeat sound. In this song, there are a variety of different instruments, such as acoustic guitar and drums. This song also has some backing vocals that usually do not appear in her music. My favorite song on this album as well as her whole discography, is ‘Letter To My 13 Year Old Self.’ This song acts as advice and reassurance given to her younger self. Lyrics like “I’m so sorry that they picked you last” and “The days of tears and failure fears and no one cares will all make sense, cause, you’ll grow up,” show that the experience of being a teenage girl is less dehumanizing than it seems.
“Goddess” (2024)
While “Goddess” is only a single and not yet an album, it has the powerful storytelling and emotion to be one. Laufey’s most honest song yet, “Goddess” tells the story of a relationship where she feels inferior to her partner. She implies that the person she is singing about is older, giving it an even more gut-wrenching sound and intention. The lyrics that stood out to me most were “You took me for a fool, you stole my youth, you wanted this so much, you watched me rise then killed my light.” This song paints a more mature image about her, displaying how deep she can dive within her emotions. ‘Goddess’ is very different from her usual nostalgic and romantic discography. This song shows her improvement as a songwriter and storyteller, who is acquainted with her experiences in her relationships.
