I had eagerly awaited the release of Laufey’s next album for what felt like forever. I first stumbled across the gift that is Laufey’s music in the summer of ’22, as a snippet of her viral song, “Dear Soulmate,” appeared before me on my TikTok “For You” page. There, in the complete darkness of my room at approximately two in the morning, Laufey single-handedly shifted my world for the better and my soul ascended to new heights. The song was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard –– it sounded like floating in a perfect dreamland. So, when I heard the news about a new album, I was elated.
The wait was tough, but well worth it. After months of anticipation, the clock struck 12 a.m. on Sept. 8, Laufey released “Bewitched,” and my toil was over at last. True to the title, the album is impossibly bewitching. Laufey’s classical background and jazz influence are prevalent throughout the work, each track’s instrumentation bursting at the seams with a jazzy swing, transcendent strings and rich, breathtaking vocals.
The magic begins from the very first track and the very first chords. “Dreamer” is the perfect introduction to the album, as Laufey greets listeners with ethereal harmonies, expressing how she wishes she could stay in the clouds and just, “Be a dreamer.” The track has an intoxicating swing, the piano and percussion inspiring such delight through their syncopated rhythm that you can’t help but dance and snap along. Laufey’s vocals are truly spellbinding, her lower register smooth and silky. “Dreamer” has a very nostalgic sound, the layered harmonies especially reminiscent of older music, the kind you would hear in old Disney movies, such as “Once Upon a Dream” in the “Sleeping Beauty” soundtrack.
Laufey maintains this sound throughout, each track somehow better than the last. “Bewitched” is a love note to love and all its splendors and tribulations, covering everything from the joys of first love to gut-wrenching heartbreak. You might think that with such a range of situations, the album’s tone would feel a bit jagged and rough, but that is not true at all. While I could see a case for the transition from “Promise” (absolutely soul-crushing) to “From the Start” (absolutely jovial and fun) being jarring, the quality of the music irons out any potential complications in the album.
In truth, the tone shifts present in “Bewitched” perfectly fit the theme at hand: love. Laufey depicts love in its rawest forms, casting her perspective against a backdrop of dreamy and nostalgic instrumentation paired with raw, honest and beautiful lyricism. The album has a wide range of emotions, reflecting such a range in real life and love.
Laufey’s “Bewitched” is a work of pure magic — it’s the kind of album that takes you on a journey that you will never want to part with. It’s truly heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.
Laufey simultaneously crushes and reforms your heart. In the words of my friend and roommate, Isabelle Aengenheyster, FCRH ’25: “Laufey is a genius.”
