Delivering on the promise of her debut EP, Icelandic-Chinese singer/songwriter
Laufey unveils a lush, jazz-pop vocal vision on her first full-length, Everything I Know About Love. A coming-of-age snapshot from an artist in her early twenties, the effort brims with the hopeless romanticism and possibilities of young love and new experiences. With storytelling snippets enveloping listeners like a short film, she pines for a "Beautiful Stranger" atop a swirl of twinkling piano and ethereal contemporary production, later penning a lovelorn letter to her "Dear Soulmate" atop soothing strings and a swelling orchestral cloud. That tenderness comforts throughout, whether on the delicate piano-lounge number "What Love Will Do to You" or the gorgeous "I've Never Been in Love Before," a lush time warp to the Technicolor golden age musicals of the mid-20th century. She gives nods to her major inspirations on the horn-backed "Just Like
Chet," later channeling
Ella Fitzgerald and
Louis Armstrong on the lively "Dance with You Tonight," a subtle moment that echoes "Dream a Little Dream of Me." She also injects some bossa nova flair on "Falling Behind." Album-opener and highlight "Fragile" is the best example of what
Laufey is attempting with her modernization of classic, nostalgic sounds, its lush vocals, sweeping strings, and delicate piano sounding like
Bjork's
Vespertine woven with
Billie Eilish's
Happier Than Ever. Everything I Know About Love is a strong first showing from
Laufey, an effortless blend of old and new that manages to both comfort with familiarity and excite with possibility. ~ Neil Z. Yeung