Arts & Culture
Music Review: Eyas’ Debut EP ‘Quiet-loud’ is a Force of Sounds Big and Small
With these six standout tracks, singer-songwriter Jenna Balderson firmly plants her flag as a solo artist to know on the local scene.
Like the title of her debut EP, musician Jenna Balderson is a force of sounds both big and small. On this deeply personal introduction under her nom de plume, Eyas, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter showcases her vocal command and expansive style.
She’s been making music in Baltimore for the better part of the last decade, dropping DIY-pop singles here and there, her ethereal voice showing up as a guest star on tracks by other notable local artists like Micah E. Wood and JPEGMAFIA. And now, with these six standout tracks, she firmly plants her flag as a solo artist to know on the local scene.
Produced by indie darling Bartees Strange (who is now based in Baltimore, too) Quiet-loud is a collection of odes to the intimate moments that shape our everyday lives. Tender, textured, and at times transcendent, it shows off her ability to shapeshift between genres, sounding as at-home in lo-fi folk and neo-jazz ballads as in electric throwback dance tracks.
Her hushed, honeyed verses drift over and under sparkling synths, jangly electric guitars, and even rapid-fire punk-tinged drums. At times, her airy intonations on “Something In Between” almost sound like a low, lilting line of trumpet—you know the kind that make your heart ache? But at the start of 2025, “casa7” is the anthemic club beat we didn’t know we needed to get us through winter, if not the entire year.
Add it to your rotation, then catch Eyas live during her release show, featuring a full band at Metro Gallery on January 10.