While Laufey’s first single, “Silver Lining,” from her forthcoming third album, A Matter of Time, might have been on the dreamy and romantic side (with a dash of devilishness, to boot), her second offering, “Tough Luck,” is much more merciless when it comes to matters of the heart. That is to say, Laufey isn’t wearing any rose-colored glasses when it comes to love—or, more specifically, the boy who did her wrong in love. And, like the exes of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo’s past, Laufey isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to serving this bloke his just (lyrical) deserts. As a matter of fact, Laufey has already warned of A Matter of Time’s overall “vibe”/unifying theme, “I’ve taken my diary and turned it into an album of songs, delving into the whole range of emotions—from the beautiful to the ugly—that one experiences as life and love unfold in time.” Yes, it sounds a lot like something Swift would post in the wake of announcing one of her own albums.
And, if there’s any other Gen Z singer that has also learned a thing or two from the Taylor Swift School of Songwriting, it’s Olivia Rodrigo. Though, in the days since the release of “vampire,” many have speculated that Rodrigo’s fangirl sentiments toward Swift have, let’s say, cooled. Something about Rodrigo being asked to give songwriting credits (therefore, percentages) where perhaps other musicians might have just “let it slide” (e.g., Madonna with Lady Gaga doing “Express Yourself” on “Born This Way”). In any case, like Rodrigo in her earlier days, Laufey hasn’t been shy about announcing herself as a Swiftie, singing her songs in interviews, covering her songs in general, collaborating with Aaron Dessner on A Matter of Time (though “Tough Luck” is co-written and co-produced by Laufey and Spencer Stewart) and gushing about her pretty much whenever possible.
This includes citing Swift as an early non-jazz influence, telling Billboard in 2024, “Taylor Swift was one of the first songwriters that I really resonated with. Every song, while you’re listening, you can visually see what’s happening and it turns into a little movie, and I think that’s something, though she has changed genres so many times [as Laufey seems poised to do, shifting increasingly toward pop, just like Swift], she’s always kept true to that. It’s always that Taylor Swift storytelling, that songwriting, that is the common denominator. That’s one thing I really want to do in my lifetime as a musician.” And something she seems to be fine-tuning with “Tough Luck,” which even has a title in the vein of a Swift song. Not to mention a botched relationship being the driving force behind it, with Laufey stating to The Line of Best Fit, “‘Tough Luck’ is a fiery song about love gone wrong. I wanted to reveal an angrier side of myself—a side that this unfortunate relationship brought out in me.” Ah, the oldest trope in Swift’s songwriting playbook.
The lyrics, too, channel some of Swift’s more accusatory ones (including “You, with your switching sides and your wildfire lies and your humiliation” from “Mean,” “You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor” from “Is It Over Now?” and “Sometimes I wonder which one will be your last lie” from “Vigilante Shit”). Especially in the chorus, when Laufey taunts, “Tough luck/My boy, your time is up/I’ll break it first, I’ve had enough/Of waiting till you lie and cheat/Just like you did to the actress before me.” Granted, that last line bears a certain similarity to a recent Ariana Grande song, “twilight zone” (from the deluxe edition of Eternal Sunshine), during which she goads, “Hope you win for best actor/‘Cause I had you completely wrong/Does she know/You’re not who you say you are?/‘Cause I might give her a call.” And then there is a brief glimmer of Tove Lo when Laufey assures, “You won’t be missed, I’m glad to see you go” (echoing a line in Tove’s “Glad He’s Gone” that goes, “You’re better off, I’m glad that he’s gone”).
For the most part, however, Laufey is providing a straight-up Taylor-on-Red aura, particularly the songs “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “All Too Well.” At times, though, more “modern” Tay shines through, with a lyric like, “You think you’re so misunderstood/The black cat of your neighborhood” giving more The Tortured Poets Department than Red (on a side note: a black cat as the single’s cover artwork is also très Swift). It’s right back to the latter when Laufey starts going off, “I should congratulate thee for/So nearly convincing me/I’m not quite as smart as I seem/That I’m a loudmouthed nobody/My accent and music are dumb/Your tattoos are no better, hun/The proof says you’re tragic as fuck/The truth is that’s just tough, tough luck.”
In this memorable bridge, Laufey conjures up the same anger in Swift’s voice as she calls out Jake Gyllenhaal in the abovementioned Red singles. From “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, the parallel (and dripping-with-sarcasm) verse is: “I’m really gonna miss you picking fights/And me falling for it, screaming that I’m right/And you would hide away and find your peace of mind/With some indie record that’s much cooler than mine.” And from “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” it’s: “You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would’ve been fine/And that made me want to die/The idea you had of me, who was she?/A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you/Not weepin’ in a party bathroom/Some actress askin’ me what happened, you/That’s what happened, you.”
But in the moments when Laufey isn’t radiating sadness and resentment, veering more toward snarky rage, that’s when her inner Rodrigo overpowers Swift. For example, bringing her ex’s mother into it (“Does your mother even know?/Mother even know/You demoralized, effaced me/Just to feed your frail ego?”) is, of course, now “classic” Rodrigo (hear: “get him back!”). And maybe hanging out with “Liv” in the flesh has helped secure a “lyrical osmosis” effect for Laufey. Even if it was Rodrigo who first took a palpable shine to Laufey’s music and felt emboldened enough to reach out to her directly via text (not a DM, a text) to forge a friendship. And oh, how glad Laufey ended up being when she did, noting of their inherent connection, “We’re both half-Asian, half-white—we’ve always had this kind of mixed identity. And anything that I’ve gone through…she’s gone through on a very exaggerated level. It’s been really lovely to be able to check in and hang out and not feel crazy.”
Laufey has been a fixture in Rodrigo’s “crew” ever since, popping up in places like her Guts World Tour film premiere to show love for a fellow “angsty” songwriter and Swiftie (even if to a lesser extent these days). So yes, clearly both Swift’s music and counting Rodrigo, whose own music has a diluted Swift influence, among her friends has led to the alchemy of “Tough Luck.” That, and, well, another fuckboy who inspired lyrics that make him out to be a far bigger deal than he actually is. Yet another hallmark of the Swift/Rodrigo songwriting method.
