© 2026 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
91.7 FM Bay Area. Celebrating 85 Years of KALW Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Teitur's Soundtrack to Pleasant Dreams

Teitur's music radiates accessible sweetness.
Teitur's music radiates accessible sweetness.

When Danish singer-songwriter Teitur (pronounced "tighter") released Poetry & Aeroplanes in 2004, he sounded like a star in waiting: With a warm gentility to match his melancholic delivery, he radiated accessible sweetness on song after song. But the album itself didn't quite connect commercially, and Teitur opted to release the new Stay Under the Stars on his own record label.

Though uneven and oddly paced compared to its slickly consistent predecessor, Stay Under the Stars doesn't want for moments of grace. "Don't Want You To Wake Up" opens the disc on an almost stridently good-natured note, with Teitur extolling the virtues of watching a lover sleep — "Don't want you to wake up / Stay under the stars / where no one can make us / change what we are" — amid strummed acoustic guitars and subtly breezy strings.

The track never accelerates beyond an agreeable amble, but "Don't Want You To Wake Up" isn't about momentum anyway. Instead, it's about setting a tone of almost extreme comfort, and about reveling in a late night's moments of peace and freedom from responsibility. In the end, it celebrates sweet dreams by giving them a loping, lovely soundtrack.

Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. He appears frequently on All Songs Considered and NPR newsmagazines.