Content:
There’s a real sense of ragged community to Laufey’s performance.
Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Frances Beach.
“My name is Laufey, and yes, that is how you pronounce it,” grins the jazz-pop artist as she takes to the stage of London’s Roundhouse. Despite the rampant popularity of her delicate music over the past few years, it’s the only time during tonight’s show she acknowledges how fast things have changed. For the rest of the glittering performance, Laufey delivers grand intimacy with a real sense of comfort.
In recent years, a new generation has discovered and then reinvented musical scenes from the past. Everything from nu-metal and pop-punk to Britpop has been twisted into something new, but Laufey has gone beyond recent trends. Weaving together classical music with jazz, pop and a desire for theatre, Laufey has become an unlikely superstar. Questions about why this odd combination is connecting can be quickly answered by listening to the music, though. Both 2022’s ‘Everything I Know About Love’ and 2023’s follow-up album ‘Bewitched’ deliver exposing, relatable emotion with staggering power. It’s similar to what Taylor Swift did with folk in the early part of her career, and we all know how that turned out.
Rather than getting lost in the echoing expanse of the Roundhouse, though, those quiet reflections on love, loss and heartbreak have space to truly soar. The cheers of the sold-out audiences are quickly silenced as Laufey opens her set with the romantic vulnerability of ‘Fragile’, which is anything but. ‘California And Me’ is sweeping, grandiose and torn, ‘Dreamer’ channels a dynamic, twirling defiance, while ‘Beautiful Stranger’ brings a touch of Hollywood glamour to falling in love on the tube.
Backed by eight musicians, a guest appearance from her twin sister Junia and an audience choir of thousands who provide passionate harmonies and singalong to hushed piano movements, there’s a real sense of ragged community to Laufey’s performance that’s amplified by relatable narratives and shared catharsis.
Add in the starry-eyed music that comfortably basks in spiky emotions, and there’s a whole lot of beauty in tonight’s gig. However, Laufey isn’t precious with it. “Look at all the cute couples swaying. I hope you’re happy,” she smiles after a gorgeous ‘Valentines’. “This next one is for the singles. The losers,” she smirks before introducing the pained ‘Second Best’. “Are you having a good time? Well, I’m about to ruin it,” Laufey says later before another gut-wrenching anthem of disappointment and hurt. Elsewhere, ‘While You Were Sleeping’ is a giddy explosion of romance, while breakout hit ‘From The Start’ sees her undercutting unrequited feelings with a snotty “blah, blah, blah”. There’s a joyful sense of play throughout.
“I grew up playing classical music and it was always a dream to bring these different worlds together,” Laufey says to the noisy crowd. “I didn’t know it was possible, but you guys have proved it is,” she adds before adding a punchline to the moment of sincerity. “I might even say you’ve ‘Bewitched’ me.” The feeling is very much mutual.
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