The bewitching singer sets off in a new, darker musical direction
By NATALIE SALTER—arts@theaggie.org
Since releasing her first music online in 2020, the enchanting singer-songwriter Laufey has left listeners spellbound with her romantic lyricism and sweepingly beautiful soundscapes. Her songs carefully chronicle tales of loves lost and found, weaving together threads of melancholia and hopefulness effortlessly. She floats through dreams and mourns over lonely nights, her discography akin to a private diary scrawled with cursive sentences and coffee stains.
It is Laufey’s ability to capture this wealth of emotion, carefully balancing her starry-eyed romanticism with the morose lamentation of a woman burned by past relationships, that has allowed her star to rise over the past five years. Donning ballet flats and hair ribbons, she paints a world filled with rabbit holes and moonlit skies, the universe she crafts offering an escape from the turmoils of modern life for an exhausted generation of young people. But her newest single, “Silver Lining,” takes her music in a captivatingly different direction.
From the delicate melodies of 2022’s “Everything I Know About Love” to the darkly rich tunes of 2023’s “Bewitched,” the progression of Laufey’s artistic style has been like the slow shift from daylight to nighttime. Her new music seems to be continuing this trend, if “Silver Lining” is any indication.
Violins and drums beckon in Laufey’s honeyed voice at the start of “Silver Lining,” the song’s pace measured, yet powerful from its very beginning. “I’ve been falling in bad habits / Staring into the abyss,” the singer proclaims, her confession wistful yet coy.
The song’s chorus soars, and Laufey’s vocals are powerful and almost desperate as she sings to her unnamed lover. Her vocal technique is splendid, and the song pushes her voice to new limits; It is one of the boldest musical compositions she has put forth yet.
If Laufey’s songs are usually a pocket of dreaminess to escape into, “Silver Lining” dares to venture in another direction. It is laden with declarations of her sinfulness and more self-destructive qualities. “Never been calm or collected / No one ever called me sweet / What a miracle I’ve found a darling,” she says as the resplendent chorus dips into the second verse.
The heavenly worlds she usually crafts are turned to something more sinister on “Silver Lining.” This is no happily ever after, with sunlit mornings and peaceful nights. “When you go to hell, I’ll go there with you too,” Laufey sings as the song reaches its chorus. “And when we’re punished / For being so cruel / The silver lining’s I’ll be there with you.”
Though its addictiveness and richness are enough to make it a brilliant song, “Silver Lining” does a fantastic job of demonstrating Laufey’s range as an artist. She pushes beyond her usual realm of hopeful romanticism and fairytale daydreams to fully show off her darker side. As always, Laufey refuses to be defined by one aesthetic or musical label, and if “Silver Lining” is any indication, her much-anticipated new album will be her most daring creation yet.
Written by: Natalie Salter—arts@theaggie.org
