7/10

There's an appropriate tension within the title of Bárdits Éva’s debut solo album. 'Inertia' suggests stillness, passivity and the difficulty of changing direction, yet the record itself is constantly shifting beneath the surface. Acoustic songs loosen into abstract textures, literary references take on intimate new meanings, and moments of apparent simplicity gradually reveal a more complicated emotional and political framework.

The Budapest artist has been active within Hungary’s underground scene since 2013, moving between the feminist punk of Holnaplányok and the electronically altered folk traditions of Gondozási Központ. On 'Inertia' however, she works entirely alone. Every song, instrument, vocal, recording and production decision belongs to her, giving the album the closeness of a private document while also making it a clear statement of artistic independence.

Recorded at home, the songs began as complete performances played in single takes without a metronome. Additional vocals and instrumentation were then layered around those original foundations. The method preserves natural fluctuations in tempo and phrasing, creating performances that feel guided by emotional instinct rather than mere mechanical precision.

‘Person’ is especially significant in that regard. The song addresses sexual coercion and violence without relying on graphic detail or dramatic escalation. Its impact comes through restraint, placing vulnerability alongside immersive sound design and allowing discomfort to emerge gradually.

While its closer ‘WWHD’ approaches language from a different direction, reworking elements of Hamlet until familiar monologues begin to carry new personal associations. Acoustic guitar, harmonica and melodica are digitally manipulated into something far less recognisable, creating a meeting point between literary adaptation and experimental folk.

And that unexpected movement between the composed and the accidental defines much of 'Inertia'. Conventional melody sits beside noise, while carefully constructed layers retain the instability of their initial performances. The album can feel delicate one moment and abrasive the next, without treating those qualities as opposites.

'Inertia' is not an easy record in either subject or form, but its difficulty feels purposeful. Bárdits Éva has created a debut collection that turns the bedroom studio into a space for confrontation, reinterpretation and self-determined expression.