Live review: Laufey at Co-Op Live

Words by Riyah Naik

This March, Laufey took the stage at a sold-out show at Manchester's Co-op Live, starting off her first UK arena tour fabulously. The Icelandic singer-songwriter has paved her way over the years to create a genre that is unmistakably hers, blending the likes of jazz, pop and bossa nova. On her third album, A Matter of Time, Laufey made it abundantly clear that she intended to raise the bar for her concert experience. The stage, revealed by a grand red velvet curtain and theatrical dropping of lights, created scenery straight from a fairytale. The dreamlike backing visuals and majestic stairs resembling a castle arched to create a walkway, where through the fog Laufey entered.

Beginning with 'Clockwork', Laufey showed off her ballgown-like dress in a glittering shade of yellow. The show's first act continued with 'Lover Girl', a song that brought a particularly excited reaction from crowd members determined to show the most on-beat claps. Her mini orchestra and background dancers brought the show together, with Laufey bridging the two by displaying her dance skills and musicianship, switching from guitar to piano throughout the show. The dancers' costumes added to the theatrical and fairytale-like nature of the show, switching between tulle ballet skirts and 1920s flapper dresses in the show's second act.

'Dreamer' allowed the pairing of soft backing vocals and Laufey's ethereal voice, fabricating a dreamlike atmosphere. The abilities of the other instrumentalists were doubtless, with each component being allowed a chance to shine. The piano in 'Falling Behind' built the song to ascension, leading it to go out with a flourish. In addition, the strings on 'Silver Lining' engaged the audience in a beautiful moment of togetherness, with everyone turning on phone flashlights to create stars of light. 'Too Little, Too Late' was one felt in the heart, with the entire band, dancers and Laufey herself building momentum to produce a gigantic crescendo, strung together by her deep voice.

Credit: Nicole Mago / Practise Music

For the show's second act, Laufey moved to the smaller B-stage, which took the shape of a clock and consisted of a four-piece jazz ensemble accentuated by her own outfit change into a 1920s black-and-gold flapper girl dress. The old Hollywood vibe was further reinforced by black-and-white background visuals. Her jazzified version of 'Valentine' was rather fun, but also displayed the range of her vocal abilities. Laufey's ability to bring the intimacy of a smaller show to an arena of 23,500 people was spectacular, and evidenced throughout the show. Another moment in the show which bridges the barrier between audience and herself was the award for Best Dressed; won by a girl in the audience who was given a crown by Laufey.

After some audience interaction, Laufey reverted back to the fairytale-like nature of the show, and the whimsical nature of this was further added to with vintage film visuals during the ‘Cuckoo Ballet’ interlude. Furthermore, the third act saw Laufey toying with the audience about being too tired to play piano, bringing out the one and only Jeff Goldblum to lend a hand. After the crowd finished erupting in cheers, the two performed 'Misty' together, prompting another thunderous applause as Goldblum thanked the audience and skipped away.

Credit: Nicole Mago / Practise Music The fourth act held some fan favourite songs: after the stage was restored with its castle-like staircase, 'Promise' was performed. The song has had a recent revival in listens after being used by Olympic gold medallist Alyssa Liu, and was thus bound to be a clear standout within the show. The fifth and final act only held one song, with the encore ending the show with one of Laufey's most anticipated songs, ‘Letter to my 13-year-old Self’, bringing a tearful but hopeful mood amongst the crowd. Overall, Laufey made it clear why she belongs at the top with other pop girls, as her uniqueness and grandness exceeded expectations even from an arena tour such as this. https://open.spotify.com/album/6lauK4mNENDUMSoekDVDNG?si=mnZv7VsATS62XBXRHgmuhw