On his third album Faroese singer/songwriter Teitur has gone new ways in his working process, turning away from the guitar and piano to focus more on his vocal. ‘The Singer’ also marks another significant change in that on ‘Poetry & Aeroplanes’ (2003) and ‘Stay Under The Stars’ (2006) Teitur recorded all songs on piano and guitar and then adding other instruments, but this time he has arranged everything from scratch with Faroese friend, composer and arranger Tróndur Bogason before entering a studio. And when listening to the result you cannot find any really good arguments for Teitur to return to his old ways.

From the start with just marimba and discrete choir backing Teitur on the title track as he addresses his inevitable fate as a musician and contemplate on the relation between a singer and his/her audience (“They just want to understand me / And I sing to be loved”) over “based on a true story” ‘Guilt By Association’, about two young men who accidently killed a man walking his dog on a foggy night, to polka-ballad ‘Start Wasting My Time’, where a stressed Teitur is asking someone for help to wind down by making sure he’s wasting his time completely (according to him listening to Dido and Madonna are perfect at that), ‘The Singer’ is wonderfully crafted and vocally his best work so far.

A friend of Teitur said to him that this is “heart & mind” music rather than “body & soul” music. I’ll let you be the judge of whether he was right or not, but if you’re into goosebumps I strongly recommend that you check ‘The Singer’ out.

Genre: Rock
Who: Teitur
Title: The Singer
Label: Arlo & Betty Recordings/Playground
Year: 2008
Country: Faroe Islands
Language: English
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Recommended tracks:
The Girl I Don’t Know – Catherine The Waitress – Guilt By Association – Start Wasting My Time