CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Jazz (Woman Voice)      

Berlin-based singer-songwriter Bajka Pluwatsch's name is a Slavic word meaning "fairytale." Perhaps fitting, then, that her debut feature should be a concept album based on 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. On The Banker's Fate she sounds cabaret, scatting over some pretty flute and straight-up jazz before a closing pseudo-rap with an attitude like part-time Herbaliser cohort What What. Groovy upright bass and jazzy piano on The Landing give way to a wonky baritone sax riff and Rhodes keyboard on The Hunting, but the open phrasing of songs like The Beaver's Lesson sometimes sounds 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 somewhat repetitive. Concept albums should be coherent as a whole, but they often don't generate standalone gems. Ultimately, Bajka's songs come off a bit weak after previous collaborations with strong songwriting electronica-cum-jazz outfits Radio Citizen and Bonobo.

All Music Guide