Words: Freya Woodcock
Photo Credit Emma Summerton

Laufey brings ‘A Matter Of Time’ album tour to her sold out show at the O2 London for her biggest show yet. Laufey herself described London fondly saying it was ,”one of those cities that artistically makes my heart come alive.”

Opener, Phoebe Alice Lou hyped up the audience performing some of her most popular songs including, Witches and Open My Door.

Act One saw Laufey coming out in her pink flowy dress to ‘Clockwork’. This song instantly set the mood for the show as this is the first song on the album the tour is named after and the song itself perfectly encapsulates the albums themes of time. The set at the beginning of the show resembles a castle.

‘Lover Girl’ instantly picks up the vibe as well as audience interaction as the crowd claps along. London kept in time as Laufey clapped and danced across the stage.This was followed by ‘Dreamer’ taking the crowd back to her second album ‘Bewitched’. And then, ‘Falling Behind’ which is a fan favourite from Laufey’s first album ‘Everything I Know About Love’.

‘Silver Lining’ takes us back to ‘A Matter Of Time’. And the crowd was anything but ‘Bored’ during the track from ‘Bewitched: The Goddess Edition’. To conclude the first act ‘Too Little, Too Late’ brought a sharp emotional performance as Laufey sat down and played the piano.

In Act Two Laufey welcomed fans to her jazz club and said she wanted to try and make the O2 feel much more intimate. Her skirt had changed to a fringe almost 1920s style and a small orchestra accompanied her on the B Stage.

‘Seems Like Old Times’ is a bonus track from the most recent album and picks up its pace half way through utilising the orchestra. ‘Valentine’ , ‘Fragile’ and ‘While You Were Sleeping’ continue this theme.

There’s then a brief pause from music as Laufey announces the winner of her ‘best dressed’ award. On London night one this went to Rowan wearing a dark blue crochet dress that said Laufey on the front, featured the hands of a clock and tied with a bow in the back. This dress, along with the matching bag took Rowan more than 3 months to make.

Act Two concludes with ‘Let You Break My Heart Again’ which is one of the older songs in the set and showcases a beautiful mix of classical music and heartfelt songwriting.

Act Three sees the set moved to resemble a carousel with horses shown moving on the screen behind. This ties in perfectly with the next song ‘Carousel’ a song many fans base their outfits off of. This is followed by ‘Forget-Me-Not’.

’Cuckoo-Ballet Interlude’ further showcases Laufey’s appreciation for classical music. The dancers perform a ballet routine and Laufey performs a brief part on the cello.

Act Four begins with a silly video of Laufey trying on different outfits while backstage she does a quick change into a co-ord with a matching jacket that she takes off and replaces with a sash later in the act.

‘Mr Eclectic’ is an upbeat start to Act Four as Laufey spins across the stage and uses her ‘Mei Mei’ (a beloved mascot of Laufey) book as an accessory. This is followed by ‘Castle In Hollywood’ , a track fans are happy to see back after its brief removal from the set list. 

‘Promise’ is then played on the piano and sees the whole crowd singing along. ‘Goddess’ follows also on the piano. ‘Tough Luck’ then picks up the pace with backup dances returning and the audience jumping up and down on the bridge.

For ‘Snow White’ mirrors are set up all over the stage and Laufey shares this song about insecurity is her favourite on her most recent album, this is a tear jerker amongst the crowd. This is followed by fan favourite ‘From The Start’ which is Laufey’s number one song on Spotify with over one billion streams.

The Final Act begins with ‘Sabotage’ which begins much like her other songs but has what’s been described by fans as a ‘jumpscare’ when violins dramatically pick up and become exceeding louder. This took even greater effect live with the flashing lights appearing like lightning.

The next song is usually a surprise song but for the last couple of shows has been Laufey’s most recently released song ‘How I Get’ from her upcoming extended album ‘A Matter Of Time: The Final Hour’ coming April 10th.

The set concludes with the sentimental song ‘Letter To My 13 Year Old Self’. Laufey says it’s become a bit of a tradition to end each of her shows this way as it reminds her how far she’s come and she wants to encourage fans to chase their dreams as well. When Laufey sings ‘one day you’ll be up on stage, little girls will scream your name’ the crowd screams ‘Laufey’ in response giving a wholesome end to the show.