To my ears, this is better than Radio Citizen and as good as Bonobo in terms of production. The acid test is would they stand up as instrumentals, and I would definitely say yes. There is a lot of similarities to Bonobo's album, but with the added pleasure of Bajka's fantastic voice that just soothes all your troubles away. I can't find fault with this album, with the beats having just enough jazz to keep them accessible. I highly recommend this album
Her name is Slavic for "fairytale." Fitting that her debut feature is a concept album of Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark. Bajka has a distinctive and appealing voice, resonant of Sun Ra Arkestra singer June Tyson and adenoidal like Billie Holiday. A pseudo-rap closes The Banker's Fate with an attitude like part-time Herbaliser cohort What What. Groovy upright bass and jazzy piano on The Landing give way to a Rhodes and a wonky baritone sax riff on The Hunting, but the open phrasing in The Beaver's Lesson can sound like the music is just a vehicle for the lyrics. It doesn't force Bajka to get creative. All the words are excerpts from the poem and she keeps the original meter, which lends it a nursery rhyme rhythm. The tempo and beat also get repetitive. Concept albums should be coherent as a whole, but they often don't generate standalone gems. Her songs come off a bit weak after previous collaborations with strong songwriting outfits Radio Citizen and Bonobo.
