Melissa Kacar

  CINEMA captures so much of the soft and glowing intimacy that has defined so much of The Marías ' music from the very beginning. The gorgeous sonic universe within this album became a signature for them, one that has only grown more fully realized with each subsequent release.  The origins of many of these songs predate the band itself, evolving over years before their official debut. Alongside the announcement of the CINEMA  track list, they wrote in the YouTube description: "A couple of them were written years ago in our bedroom, before we even released our first song. One of them was written at the start of 2020, a grim foreshadowing of the year that followed. Another was written in our tour van in between Washington, D.C. and Boston. All of them were written with everything we had." The entirety of the album was created by frontwoman María Zardoya alongside core producer, co‑writer, and longtime partner Josh Conway . After CINEMA' s release, The Marías nearly di...

To usher in this new season of growth and renewal, María Zardoya has released Bloom , the second installment of her Not For Radio solo project. She introduced the project last Fall with her stunning debut, Melt , which is a collection deeply rooted in nature and the stillness of winter. Throughout that record, she circled the core question, "Is love worth all of the pain?" and spent the entire album grappling with the answer. Now, María returns with a three song EP that explores what happens when she finally allows herself to fall fully into love. Once again, this project is deeply tied to nature and and the changing of seasons, this time leaning into the symbolism of Spring and likening her own personal growth to the world blooming around her physically and metaphorically.  Sonically, it lives in the same sonic universe as Melt and much of her work with  The Marías , but with a noticeably more optimistic tone. It feels like such a beautiful extension of everything that has...

"Carla's Song" by Harry Styles Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally  is here and it is such an incredible return to one of the defining artists of our time. One undeniable career highlight for Harry is the album's final track, "Carla's Song" . It's hard to even put into words how special this song is. It feels like a celebration of the music that shapes us and the people who enter our lives and change the way we listen, share, and connect. There's something so moving about the way he captures that exchange; how you show someone the songs you love, and they show you theirs, and suddenly your world is bigger because of it. It also feels like a beautiful reflection of the relationship between artist and listener, and the way he understands what his music represents to so many people right now in the moment, and also the ways in which this art will outlive all of us. As a closing track, it's powerful, emotional, and unlike anything I've hear...

"Swan"   feels like the heart of   Melt , the debut solo album by Mar ía 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  Mar ía's work.  Later, she continues, "If you meet me by the wate...

A great range of artists were celebrated at this year's Grammy ceremony, making it one of the most stacked and memorable shows in recent years. The night was filled not only with incredible performances, but also with meaningful artistic statements that felt especially apt to be making for this moment in history we are living through. Music remains one of the most unifying forces we have, and the statements so many artists chose to make on this stage felt especially important. In a time marked by division, unrest, and the constant heartache of witnessing horrors around the world, moments like this remind us why we need music more than ever to bring us together. Kendrick Lamar was the most nominated artist of the year, earning nine nominations. His album  GNX  was absolutely incredible and truly deserving of all the hype and then some. At the main ceremony, he won for Best Rap Album and for Record of the Year for "luther" featuring SZA . When accepting his award for Best ...