In classic fairytale fashion, Laufey’s third album A Matter of Time dances between dizzying highs and unceremonious falls. Blending whimsical classical flourishes with pop-leaning guitar ballads, she captures the push and pull of gut-wrenching love and defiant heartbreak while crystallizing key moments of her personal journey.

Amid bashful love songs, Laufey finds her voice in deeper territory, unpacking the struggles of fame, best-friend breakups, and homesickness. Elsewhere, she leans into more quietly relatable emotions—envy, regret, and self-doubt—most poignantly on “Carousel” and “Sabotage.”

Still, Laufey never wallows for long. Though she may be a self-declared “Lover Girl,” she’s quick to flip the script, offering cautionary tales and witty put-downs of those who don’t deserve her time, especially on “Mr. Eclectic.”

A Matter of Time feels like a collection of diary entries, each more unflinchingly honest than the last. It’s a luminous addition to her catalog of reflective pop, delivered with her signature classical-meets-modern twist.