Hi! Welcome back to the summer special! So, I thought it was best to go into the summer special with a full day-by-day plan, but there have been a lot of changes as I've gone on, for a number of reasons. Some of the posts that didn't make it were simply too big to finish and will be saved for a future series, and some were removed just to make room for... well, posts like this. Inevitably, there has been a lot of unforeseen news in the musicverse this month, and this was something I just had to talk about even though it literally just happened five hours ago.
Earlier today, Laufey uploaded the above video, revealing the entire tracklist for her A Matter Of Time album, and intriguingly, the first note of every song. This will be my third AMOT prediction post, but in a new style, with a track-by-track rundown of my thoughts. I will be sharing what I predict/hope for each track, and some things that I got right in my previous predictions. I have those posts linked below for reference:
- This is the more concise, first-impression-y Hallett's Version concept I made of the album in May, still a few days before the release of Tough Luck or even the confirmation of the album title and release info.
- This is the bingo card I made earlier this month as the second entry in the summer special, which was more formulated and "objective", but was also less about the album lineup and more about its accompanying tour.
1. Clockwork (partially teased)
First note: C
Well, I was already almost correct about something. The first track in my original concept/"prediction" for this album was Tick Tock On The Clock, which if I remember correctly was the actual name of a track of which a snippet was posted. Many promo videos for this album include an ominous tolling bell instrumental, and it's possible that the title was changed over the course of the album. As for my predictions about this song, aside from obviously keeping with the titular theme of time, I immediately thought of Mastermind by Taylor Swift. ("I laid the groundwork, and then just like clockwork...") Clockwork is a common metaphor in lyrics for a repeating pattern, and interestingly, a single line from this song was apparently revealed in a New York Times article: "Words I'll forget, deeply regret, he'll run away". This line makes me think this song will follow a sort of "every time I fall in love, this is what happens" concept, like, for example, Kenya Grace's Strangers. This means I might have gotten a second prediction from my first L3-centered post partially correct, as one of the conceptual tracks was titled Every Time I Fall In Love and would follow this same concept. Of course this probably won't feature Sydney Rose like I "predicted", but... anything can happen.
2. Lover Girl (released)
First note: A#
We all know and love Lover Girl already so I won't say anything else here, other than that I did correctly predict that track 2 would be a pre-album single, although I had the wrong single.
3. Snow White (debuted live)
First note: D
Now, here is an interesting one. A lot of these songs have had snippets or lines teased, but two of the unreleased tracks have actually been officially debuted in full! Laufey premiered the song Snow White on June 30th in London on one of her more exclusive shows in her "Laufey's Serenades" mini-tour, and I gotta say, it's gorgeous and I can't wait to hear the studio recording of it. The concept is straightforward - it's essentially the same theme as Olivia Rodrigo's Jealousy Jealousy or Pretty Isn't Pretty - and unsurprisingly, there is a lot of emotional depth packed into this short song. I love when songs take a simple theme and explore many aspects of it, and this song does a very good job at exploring how this theme relates to herself, to people in her life, and to society as a whole. In the first verse she sings about being dissatisfied in her own appearance, then the chorus touches on how society pressures people to conform to standards, and then the second verse introduces a Magnolia-like character representing beauty standards who Laufey feels inadequate compared to. Excited to hear how this fits in with the rest of the album.
4. Castle In Hollywood (unreleased)
First note: F
So this is the first song we've gotten to that we truly have zero confirmed information about beyond the title. This title conjures a powerful image to me, but I'm still not quite sure how this could form an entire song. One idea that I had is having a bewitching encounter with someone near the actual Hollywood Castle, which seems most likely. Another thing that came to mind was the Hollywood Bowl performance with the symphony, and this song possibly being a tribute to her fans and/or her jazz idols, but... that doesn't really feel like a track 4 to me. A very broad and personal concept like that seems better suited for an opening track, closing track, or maybe a bonus track. So this could really go any direction.
5. Carousel (partially teased)
First note: D
Another song we apparently got a line from in the New York Times - "Such a spectacle you signed up for". The prediction I had for this song was a sort of concept similar to Goddess (and also numerous Taylor Swift songs, particularly those about Joe Alwyn), that's essentially about how fame can complicate relationships. A carousel could symbolize something that's fun at first, but eventually becomes dizzying. That would definitely fit the line that we got, as being in a relationship with someone famous has its obvious pros and cons. They "signed up for" this relationship knowing that it would have everyone watching them.
6. Silver Lining (released)
First note: E
We all know and love Silver Lining already so I won't say anything else here.
7. Too Little, Too Late (unreleased)
First note: Bb
Another song that we have no information about beyond the title, which also somewhat vaguely keeps with the overarching theme of time. I'm gonna guess that the title of this is just self-explanatory, and it's probably a sad and/or angry song about someone who broke her heart by not giving enough. However... I will propose a probably unlikely suggestion that the title might be a bit of a bait-and-switch, and is actually about Laufey herself realizing that she gave too little, too late? Or maybe it's about how past partners gave too little, too late, and this one isn't? We don't know anything about this song for sure yet, and I'm probably overthinking it.
8. Cuckoo Ballet (Interlude) (unreleased)
First note: F
I correctly predicted that there would be an instrumental interlude, and based on the title, I was probably right about it being a more peppy, upbeat-sounding one. I love the double-meaning of the title, referring to being insane in the head when in love, and also referencing a cuckoo clock to continue the "time" motif. Our last instrumental composition from Laufey was the Nocturne for solo piano on Bewitched, but for some reason, I think this will be a multi-instrument interlude, with similar fun tropical instrumentation to Lover Girl. It will likely do what the Nocturne did and incorporate melodic themes from other tracks. Maybe it'll sample the sound of a cuckoo clock also? We'll have to wait and see.
9. Forget-Me-Not (unreleased)
First note: G
I knew forget-me-not was a type of flower, and I did some research on it to come to two very different predictions about this song. Forget-me-not flowers are often used to symbolize eternal love for someone, so this could be a very romantic and saccharine, Silver Lining type of song about being with someone forever and always. But I also came up with a much more dark, sad theory. The forget-me-not flower is also famously known as a symbol of loved ones who have died. I don't want to speculate too much about this as this very well could be an incredibly devastating and heart-wrenching song, or it could be a fun cheesy song about spending the rest of her life with a lover... but either way, I think the big takeaway is this is about someone she really loves and doesn't want to forget.
10. Tough Luck (released)
First note: Db
We all know and love Tough Luck already so I won't say anything else here.
11. A Cautionary Tale (unreleased)
First note: B
Well, this might just be the vaguest title on the entire album, and it doesn't help that we know nothing of it beyond the title. Maybe it's about a similar concept to my prediction for Carousel, that you should proceed with caution when pursuing a relationship with Laufey. What I think is more likely is the opposite, that Laufey herself should proceed with caution in relationships. Although I was half joking in my ranking post when I said "imagine if Silver Lining and Tough Luck are about the same person"... maybe this completes the story arc of the dangers of being with a person who isn't exactly the nicest? Or maybe it's not about relationships at all, but rather a cautionary tale about the journey to stardom? It's hard to say when all you have are three very common, familiar words, but there are a lot of interesting ways this could go.
12. Mr. Eclectic (unreleased)
First note: A
I immediately thought of Mr. Electric Blue by Benson Boone when I saw this. The term "eclectic" essentially means someone who takes inspiration from a wide variety of sources. (So, the opposite of Avery Anna's Mr. Predictable?) Honestly... I'm finding it hard to think of a good prediction for this. The best thing I could think of was someone who sort of "does it all", which can be a positive and a negative - of course it could have a more... risqué meaning, or in a completely different light it could mean there's a lot of different versions of him and she never knows which one she'll get. So again, a lot of ways this could go especially not knowing anything about this song besides the title.
13. Clean Air (debuted live)
First note: A
The second song here that has been premiered in the Laufey's Serenades concert series, and I am already impressed. Honestly this song has some of the strongest lyricism of Laufey's entire discography. It's a similar idea to Tough Luck about keeping a toxic person out of your life and breathing "clean air". There's a lot of metaphors and clever double-entendres in this song and especially considering it's not released yet, I haven't taken the time to really break it down, but when I do my complete review of AMOT when it releases, I'll go into further detail.
14. Sabotage (partially teased)
First note: Eb
The final track, thought to be a chaotic revenge song, and a song that I am... honestly not quite emotionally ready for! For all my music nerds out there, I think it's kinda cool that the two songs before this start on A, and this song starts on Eb, which are a tritone apart, creating a noticeable tonal dissonance. For all my non-music nerds out there, basically the two songs before it will likely start with a similar sort of atmosphere and the song that follows is a huge shift. Seven supposed lyrics from the song were revealed in New York Times - "Cold bloody bitter sabotage / It's just a matter of time till you see the dagger / It's a special of mine to cause disaster / I don't understand / I'm my own worst enemy / You assure me you love me / And steal it with a kiss". W O W. Some powerful lines there, featuring the long-awaited reference to the album's title as this will be Laufey's first full-length record without a title track (as I correctly predicted!) and in addition, Laufey stated that this song will end with about a whole minute of Beatles' A Day In The Life-inspired experimental instrumentation. Probably gonna be different from anything we've heard from her before. I am... excited for this one to say the least.
That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!
the video is called "claim ur song" but it gets cut off on the site so it says "claim ur son"
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