Teitur "I Want to Be Kind" (2018)

I Want to Be Kind
release date: Jun. 8, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Thomas Bartlett, Teitur Lassen
label: Arlo & Betty Recordings - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Looking for a Place" - 2. "To Be of Use" - 3. "If Your Heart's Not in It" - 6. "I Would Love You All the Same" - 8. "I Want to Be Kind" - 12. "I Have Found My Happiness"

7th studio album by Teitur follows almost five whole years after his most recent album Story Music (Oct. 2013). In the meantime, Teitur released the collaboration album Confessions (Oct. 2016, released on Nonesuch) with American composer and conductor Nico Muhly.
I Want to Be Kind is a bit of a return to his roots in chamber pop and quiet folk rock. Except for his brief take with Story Music and his collaboration work with Nico Muhly, it's not that Teitur is notorious for making big experimental detours on his musical path, where he stays pretty much to a formula with roots in folk and leaving enough room to embrace both ballads and more rock-oriented compositions, and that's also what he has returned to here. After all, I think he sounds more confident in his songwriting than he did on the more experimental Story Music.
It's a nice collection of sometimes deep and witty songs, and as always, Teitur has a fine ear for melody.

Nico Muhly & Teitur "Confessions" (2016)

Confessions

release date: Oct. 21, 2016

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]

producer: recorded by Saskia Coolen

label: Nonesuch Records - nationality: USA / Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Describe You" - 4. "Small Spaces" - 7. "Nowheresville" - 8. "Coffee Expert" - 11. "Love Hits You Where It Hurts" - 14. "Time to Dry"

Collaboration album by classical American composer & conductor Nico Muhly and folk pop singer / songwriter Teitur of the Faroe Islands. The album appears to be recorded on the spot with Muhly as conductor of Holland Baroque Society Orchestra at Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven in The Netherlands. The two main collaborators are both credited as musical composers with Teitur as songwriter and vocalist, and most of the songs have been written especially for this album consisting of 14 compositions with a total running time at just below 48 minutes. The song "If You Wait" from Teitur's Story Music (2013) has been re-arranged and is here listed as "If You Wait a Little Longer" (track #10).

Musically, this is on the border of popular music touching on classical, or simply a neo-classical project. Teitur sings in his usual melancholic style accompanied by a full orchestra with bold focus on strings. Most but not all compositions are with lyrics but still Teitur and Muhly share composer credits on all tracks, and it's not really surprising to find Teitur in this unusual territory. He has often made use of strings and composed music of 'chamber pop' and most recently he has been experimenting with other styles, most noteworthy heard on Story Music, and now in another field here with Muhly.

Other artists have made attempts of transgressing the borders between popular music and the classical sphere - most often without much success, and Confessions is yet another example of pitfalls in that category. To me, it ressembles Elvis Costello's attempt with The Juliet Letters (1993) with The Brodsky Quartet in the way that the vocalist (from the popular culture) seems determined to continue his singing style only accompanied by classical music, and in that respect I find that Teitur fulfills his job better than Costello managed, although Costello and The Brodsky Quartet actually was met by some acclaim and eventually went on a tour to promote the album, which again was seen as an artistic and commercial success. I don't think Muhly and Teitur will be greeted with the same kind of open arms for their initative. They are simply not as famous as their British collegue, but their project does overshine the aforementioned collaboration by being more daring, or perhaps Teitur's singing style simply fits the chamber pop universe better. Anyhow, I'm not a fan of this regardless the momentarily fine moments they do produce with their colliding spheres. I know absolutely nothing about Nico Muhly and only sought the album out because of Teitur's presence, and in his discography the album falls in the lower part as his so far second least favourable album to date.

Teitur "Story Music" (2013)

Story Music
release date: Oct. 24, 2013
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Teitur
label: Betty and Arlo Recordings - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Hopeful" - 3. "Antonio and His Mobile Phones" - 4. "Rock and Roll Band" (official video) - 6. "It's Not Funny Anymore" - 8. "Indie Girl"

6th studio album by Teitur released just one year after the ep Four Songs is once again issued on his own label. Since then he also composed the music score to the short film "The Load" (2012) by Kristian Sønderby. Teitur released the score as The Load: Original Score (2013).

Stylistically, Teitur has moved into more orchestrated 'chamber pop' featuring strings and horns, and he has added something that sounds like 'country'. Sometimes it works, as on tracks #1 and #6, but for tracks #2, #5, #7, and #10, I don't really find that it works all that fine. Especially track #2, "If You Wait" is a bit of a strange artsy clone with traces of Laurie Anderson [!]. Not that I dislike Laurie Anderson any one bit, but for someone like Teitur, it's more than an extraordinary leap. He is obviously experimenting on this, leaving behind his artistic traits and the end result is a bit bland. There's much focus on lyrics but except for the above-mentioned highlights, I really don't appreciate it all that much and ultimately find it among his weakest albums to date. The one positive thing about it is that he keeps evolving and seems determined for new stylistic inputs.
Better luck next time, Teitur!

Teitur "Four Songs" (2012) (ep)

Four Songs, ep
release date: Sep. 3, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Teitur
label: Arlo and Betty Recordings - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Home" (live) - 2. "Poetry & Aeroplanes" - 3. "Jailhouse Gumbo Jones" (live) - 4. "She Lives in the North"

4 track studio ep by Teitur follows two years after Let the Dog Drive Home. This was also released on vinyl with the title Four Songs and B-Sides with the A-side consisting of the four tracks from this release and with another additional four previously unreleased tracks on the B-side.
The music is slightly more chamber pop and piano-styled than previously heard from Teitur, who began his career as a folk singer with an acoustic guitar. The title track from his debut album Poetry & Aeroplanes is included here in an alternate version both more subdued and later much more electrified, which means: a rather progressive take on that. Best track here is the last, although track #1 became a surprising hit as it was used in a TV commercial for the Ronald McDonald House in Denmark.
All in all, it's always nice to hear new music from Teitur. This short album is, however, anything but coherent but it works nevertheless - also to reveal new sides to this very fine artist.

Teitur "Let the Dog Drive Home" (2010)

Let the Dog Drive Home
release date: Oct. 2010
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5 ] [3,56]
producer: Teitur Lassen
label: Playground Music - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Feel Good" - 2. "God, I Have So Many Things to Tell You" - 5. "Betty Hedges" (live) - 6. "You Never Leave LA" (4 / 5) - 8. "Let the Dog Drive Home" (official video) - 10. "All I Remember From Last Night Is You" (live)

5th full studio album by Teitur following the live album A Night at the Opera (Mar. 2010) and 2½ years after The Singer. This is fine and mellow, much in the same quiet form as his 2008 album. I just find it somewhat less ambitious and even more introvert. Perhaps it lacks the obvious single hits.
It's still a fine singer / songwriter release, and there's hardly a bad track on the album.
Bonus info: Teitur himself, did the cover art as well as the inlay booklet drawings, and he also did the official animation-video for track #6.

Teitur "The Singer" (2008)

The Singer
release date: Feb. 19, 2008
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Teitur Lassen
label: Arlo & Betty Recordings - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "The Singer" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "The Girl I Don't Know" (4 / 5) - 4. "We Still Drink the Same Water" - 5. "Catherine the Waitress" - 10. "Don't Let Me Fall in Love With You"

4th studio album by Teitur follows the 2007-album Káta Hornið of songs exclusively containing songs in Faroe Islandic presumably made as mere promotion for his tour in his native surroundings.
The Singer continues where he left us with the album Stay Under the Stars from 2006 by representing more internationally-minded compositions with lyrics in English albeit Teitur has now chosen a path with more focus on the introspective.
The album is a strong return to form, and it's a fine contender to his best ever album as it's also his most coherent album with several fine compositions.

Highly recommended.

Teitur "Káta Hornið" (2007)

Káta Hornið
release date: Jun. 25, 2007
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,62]
producer: Jónas Bloch Danielsen (recording)
label: Playground Music - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

3rd studio album by Teitur is a collection of songs entirely in his native Faroese language. The style is gentle folklore and singer / songwriter with Teitur only accompanied by guitar, brass, piano, and quiet jazz drums. The album has only been released in Scandinavia and initially only in the Faroe Islands and in Iceland prior to a live tour on the islands.
I think many of the tracks sound too much alike without obvious great songs. The normal strong narration disappears in an incomprehensible language, and it only proves that you must be a native to fully appreciate these songs.

Teitur "Stay Under the Stars" (2006)

Stay Under the Stars
release date: May 1, 2006
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Martin Terefe
label: Arlo & Betty Recordings - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Don't Want You to Wake Up" (4 / 5) - 2. "Louis, Louis" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "You Get Me" - 4. "I Run the Carousel" - 8. "Umbrellas in the Rain" - 9. "Boy, She Can Sing!" - 12. "All My Mistakes"

2nd studio album by Teitur follows three years after Poetry & Aeroplanes. The debut was promising and it received positive reviews but simply failed to produce the commercial success Universal Records had hoped for. For whatever reasons, Teitur didn't extend his contract with the American giant and instead he established his own label, Arlo & Betty Recordings to ensure future album releases. Stay Under the Stars is distributed by the Danish label Playground (and later reissued by Edsel Records).
Musically, it's close to his debut, perhaps more subtle with less chamber pop feel and even more acoustically driven. The songs are still there and it comes out as a pretty fine follow-up very much on par with a fine debut. Only I find it slightly bettering the debut by being a more coherent release.
Recommended.

Teitur "Poetry & Aeroplanes" (2003)

Poetry & Aeroplanes [debut]
release date: 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Rupert Hine
label: Universal Records - nationality: Faroe Islands, Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Sleeping With the Lights On" - 2. "I Was Just Thinking" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "You're the Ocean" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Poetry & Aeroplanes" - 5. "Josephine" - 10. "Shade of a Shadow" - 11. "To Meet You"

Studio debut album by Teitur [ˈtaitʊɹ] (aka Teitur Lassen). The album is recorded in both Los Angeles and in Spain and on it feature several established studio musicians. Prior to this, Teitur had released albums with the Faroese band Mark No Limits (1996), and later with the project band Sólin og Regnið (2002). This is a folk pop and most of all singer / songwriter album with predominantly acoustic and some chamber pop music.
It's a quite strong and promising debut that I keep returning to.
Recommended.