A Matter of Time

I appreciate what Laufey does. Bringing classical jazz to our generation is deeply important work. I am actually in love with the idea of setting modern problems to classical melodies. But A Matter of Time wasn’t all that I hoped for. To be clear, it wasn’t a complete mess: I like that it slows life down for the listener. I like that it uses a variety of sonic elements and instruments: everything between accordion to bossa nova. I even enjoy much of the writing. When Laufey isn’t being to overly-literal or elementary in the way she expresses feelings (especially about love), I find it quite beautiful. I found her songs that were not about love on this record were overall better than those that were (Snow White, for example, stood out).

That being said, I’m still waiting for Laufey’s production to improve. Something always feels off and not quite there. Part of the problem is surely that I do not love every vocal register she sings in. There are moments when I just don’t feel like her voice sounds polished enough. Likewise, many of the songs felt repetitive. I also wish she would embrace jazz just a little more. We don’t need more bedrom pop singers. Laufey has proven she can do vocal jazz quite well. Her work with orchestras is among her best and I firmly believe she should pursue that direction over any other. Lastly, I am certainly not one of those people that only listens to jazz around Christmas time / associates it with the holidays, but this truly felt like a wintertime record. Nothing about late August makes me want to listen to this record. Laufey is capable of sounding so sophisticated, but A Matter of Time felt like a step down.