Melissa Kacar

With N ot For Radio , María Zardoya of  The Marías steps out on her own for the first time with her debut solo release, Melt . As the name of her side project suggests, this music was not made with the intention of it receiving any mainstream attention or commercial success. Instead, Melt became a deeply personal refection, one that fully embraces intimacy and vulnerability in ways she has never explored before. Written over the course of just three weeks in January 2024 in Upstate New York, María collaborated with Luca Buccellati and Sam Evian to craft the record against the backdrop of cold, isolated winter snowscapes. That distinct environment seeps into the music, shaping a gorgeous and atmospheric exploration of love, all centered around the overarching question: "Is love worth all of the pain?" María described Not For Radio as "…my alternate reality" and a pursuit of rediscovering a part of herself and exploring, on her own terms, the act of loving and losing...

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...

"No One Noticed" by The Marías explores themes of longing for human connection and isolation in the digital age, while yearning for someone to finally see her the way a lost love once did. Lamenting for the past and what could have been she sings, "No one tried to read my eyes," she sings in the second verse, "No one but you, wish it weren't true". This song poignantly captures the distinct sense of isolation that comes from being surrounded by room full of people, yet still feeling completely alone, as well as the notion that others may never fully grasp the depth of your inner thoughts and struggles in those moments. It was featured as the eleventh track on The Marías' 2024 sophomore album,  Submarine ,  which was one of my favorite new music discoveries from last year. "I remember just waking up one morning and sitting on my bed grabbing the guitar and just starting to play. The windows were open the birds, were chirping like it was just a...

  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...

"drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo I already know this is going to end up being one of, if not the , top songs of my entire year. It's only been a few days and I'm already completely obsessed. "drop dead" is such a cute, sweet love song, and she captures that initial spark and breathlessness of meeting someone and falling in love for the first time in a way truly only Olivia can. It's so sharply written - especially that second verse, which I haven't been able to get out of my head since the moment I first heard it - and so earnest in the way she depicts herself falling so hard and so fast. you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is absolutely my most anticipated album of the year, I have been waiting so long for new music from her and "drop dead" is such a strong introduction into what I'm sure is going to be an incredible record to come!  "Living Room" by Not For Radio To usher in this new season of growth and renewal, María ...