"Swan" by Not For Radio // Song Review

- February 16, 2026

"Swan" feels like the heart of Melt, the debut solo album by María Zardoya, under the name Not For Radio. It is truly one of the most gorgeous songs María has ever written and expansive under the world in which she created with the rest of the record. It reads like a vow of love, unfolding with some of the most romantic and breathtaking lyrics I have ever heard, as she offers a promise of deep, enduring devotion.

"I could love you like a swan would, I could love you 'til the end," she sings in the opening verse. "Take my body, this I promise, won’t let go of your hand". The imagery is striking, it truly feels like an embodiment of the cover of The Marías' debut album Cinema. Swans are a motif she has often referenced throughout her art in many different forms, both sonically and visually, which is a beautiful and connective layer that threads through so much of María's work. Later, she continues, "If you meet me by the water, you can always be my man, if you hold me like he hurt me, I will save you the last dance."

"The natural world has so much to teach us about life and about love. I recently learned that a lot of species mate for life: owls, and bald eagles, wolves, and swans. Because once a swan finds their love, they're devoted until the end," María said in a spoken-word intro for the song prior to its release. "In the warm summer air and in the dead of the night, they choose each other every day and always. Love in nature isn't grand, but it is simple. It's woven into migrations in rivers and forests, in the mushrooms sprouting from the moss, cracks and frozen lakes, and molasses melting from barks of trees, spider crawling through the meadow. The earth holds us all, season after season, for life. This song is called 'Swan', and it's a love letter to whoever my swan will be. I hope you find yours too."

"I could be the most deserving, once you try to understand, I have been so scared of losing like the smallest grain of sand," she admits, connecting back to the motifs of the album's opening track "Puddles" with her fear of loss, and the vulnerability of loving again after heartbreak.

The chorus repeats with a stunning simplicity, "Part of me is a part of you, it's a part of me too". It is reminiscent of Finneas' lyric from his song "Family Feud", "A part of me is part of you, just a different shade of blue". The blend of electronic elements paired with sweeping, orchestral jazz influence creates a sound that feels both timeless and modern, an approach that both Finneas and María often take in their work. The result with "Swan" is a song that is so romantic, deeply sincere and among the most captivating moments of the album.

So much of Melt comes off as if it were written for the love of her life that she hasn't even met yet, imagining what that connection will feel like, or even envisioning a version of herself she has yet to discover. There's a yearning throughout the record for the experience of knowing and being with that person that carries so much weight within the emotional core of the record. Later in the album a song called "Magnet" encapsulates that beautifully, as well. "In a dream, I will have you, so far away, so far," María sings over the ethereal introduction. "And I need to find you, so far away". It feels suspended between dream and reality, holding on to the hope of being able to one day have that closeness she is yearning for.