‘Quirky’ is not a word to be bandied about lightly, particularly in a musical context – too often it's a synonym for unlistenability, irritating flightiness, self-conscious eccentricity or grating perkiness; a desire to stand out that comes across as trying just that little bit too hard to be different. And when a record's press blurb makes use of the word, warning lights inevitably start flashing.

But relax: here's an album that really is properly quirky – and in the most delightful way. It's different, interesting, and, best of all, a recording that rewards repeated listening, becoming richer and more intriguing with every visit.

The Obradovic-Tixier Duo is the partnership of Lada Obradovic, a Croatian jazz drummer-percussionist (and an extremely proficient one at that) and French pianist David Tixier; both also make extensive use of electronics and treated voices. The eight-track The Boiling Stories of a Smoking Kettie is the duo's first UK release (they self-released an EP in France in 2017) and their first for Naim Records.

The off-kilter opener, ‘Dear You’, sets the scene with its striking blend of acoustic and electronic sounds, samples and voice tapes. Tixier simultaneously plays acoustic piano and synths, while Obradovic combines drums with glockenspiel, hapi drum and kalimba, while effects, samples and voice are used to good effect. Tixier's playing throughout is sophisticated and lyrical (and occasionally, to these ears at least, reminiscent of Bill Laurance or even the late Esbjörn Svensson, as on ‘Us Belongs To Us’ and ‘A Reckless Path’) and meshes beautifully with Obradovic's skittering polyrhythms. The use of electronic bass pulses adds another layer of intrigue. Sometimes, as on ‘Seeking a Soul’, their approach takes them into almost avant-garde territory while ‘Unborn Story’ has a noir thriller soundtrack urgency to it.

For perhaps the best example of the duo's playful, eclectic mindset, check out their cover of Miles Davis' ‘So What’; this is a piece that scarcely requires another interpretation, but O-TD's version, with its gibbering electronic bass, clattering percussion, inventive piano runs and odd time changes take it far away from Miles' contemplative, weightless original, to a place where it shouldn't perhaps work – but definitely does.

A duo of inventive dynamism, then, and an album well worth 45 minutes of your listening investment.