Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy), an Icelandic-Chinese artist who rose in popularity in the early 2020s, has brought back the genres of jazz and bossa nova for the newer generations. By using her amazing songwriting and composing skills, she has captured the hearts of many, shown recently by her ability to set a new standard for jazz in the popular music streaming app Spotify after the release of her new album, Bewitched, on the 8th of October.

Bewitched, described by Laufey as “a love album, whether it be a love towards a friend or a lover or life” has already had multiple songs go viral, prime examples being “From the Start”, “Promise”, and its title track “Bewitched”. Each of these tracks are lyrical masterpieces, each telling a different story about new love, unrequited love, and attachment, all three sung in different styles of music and moods.

This album has recently become one of my favorites since it came out. It’s full of amazing songs and stories. A few songs that stood out to me personally were the tracks “California and Me”, “Second best”, and “Misty”. I would definitely recommend this artist and album to anyone who hasn’t heard of her, or would like to branch out into a different genre of music. So far, most people I’ve shown her to have ended up being huge fans, loving her lyrics and the meaning behind them.

“It hurts to be something, it’s worse to be nothing with you.” – Laufey, “Promise”.