Not For Radio; lush and melancholic

Joey Gilbertson
46 minutes ago
5 min read

~`. introduction .`~

María Zardoya, widely known as the lead-singer in The Marías, recently released her first album under her solo-project 'Not For Radio', titled "Melt". When I first heard about this project, I was very interested but also very confused. The Marías has gained a lot of popularity over the last year or so, and I figured that the band would continue to invest their time into riding that wave of success. It was odd to see María pivot so quickly despite being in a very comfortable position.

I'm making it sound like she chose career suicide by launching this project at the peak of their popularity, but it actually makes sense in hindsight. After all, it's hard to ignore that María is easily the most recognizable member from The Marías due to her instantly recognizable voice. That's not to discount the efforts of the other members of the band, but María is clearly the most likely candidate for a successful solo-career. Because of that, I wanted to cover her first solo-album from a more subjective standpoint as opposed to doing an entire review of the project, since I don't feel like I'm ready to form a complete thought about this album yet. Let's get into it.

~`. expectations .`~

Cover for "Melt" by Not For Radio — Cover for *"Melt"* by *Not For Radio*

Going into this album, I was a little worried about whether or not it could stand on its own. I really enjoyed The Marías' last album "Submarine", and so I kind of wanted to hold this project to a similar standard. In reality, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted from this record. If it was too similar to what The Marías was already building off of, then what was the point of spinning it into a whole different project? Or what if it has none of the qualities that I enjoy about The Marías and so it loses my interest? It kind of felt like a lose-lose either way, so I felt very haphazard to press play on this album. I don't think I'm alone when it came to having uncertain expectations for this record, as the announcements and promotion for this project hadn't gotten nearly as much traction as a new Marías album announcement would. Maybe that's an unfair comparison though. Compared to other debut albums, it seems that "Melt" is doing quite well on streaming. Let's see if the attention can speak for its quality, though...

~`. a slow burn .`~

This album was an interesting first-listen. Not because it shook me to my core and created an experience I would never forget, but rather for no reason in particular. It was memorable... just because. After listening through it for the first time, I noticed I only ended up saving 2 of the 10 songs to my library. That disappointed me. The album itself wasn't disappointing, though. In fact, I thought there was really something there to be explored. I just couldn't tell what I was missing. As the weeks went on, I somehow found myself getting pulled back into this album again and again. I would listen to it the whole way through to see if I could finally find the missing piece of the puzzle. Then the cold weather started to roll in, and it all started to click somehow. Quickly, I went from having 2 songs saved to 7, which was an insane turn-around. The reason for that is due to the world-building of this record, which I'll get into more in this next section.

~`. lush artistry .`~

I'm pretty much obsessed with the artistic direction of this project. I'm not sure that there is an obvious goal that it's trying to achieve, but I see the vision very clearly and I think it was executed well. The dark, somber, and sometimes even distorted instrumental along with María's haunting vocals pairs greatly with the gothic fashion and secluded and lush environments of the visual direction. I can't perfectly put it into words, but I know exactly what she was going for and I think she nailed it. It's kind of like what Ethel Cain had in mind for "Perverts" but way less extreme and horrific. Here, it's all just supposed to be unsettling or lonely with a mysterious tone. This is a pretty unique way to present an album, and I think this vibe is something that The Marías were close to cracking, but I don't think it would have been easy to execute in a group setting where visions are constantly clashing. But here, it's a perfect balance of melancholy. I think that melancholic is the best way I can describe this album, actually. Despite María's unique vocals, there aren't many points where she truly lets her emotions shine through her voice. This might be why melancholic feelings run all throughout this project- because her tone rarely shifts- which emphasizes the lyrics, which usually aren't very black-and-white in terms of emotion. "Swan" is a great example of this; despite resembling a love song, there's still a sense of unease or imbalance that lingers throughout the song that gives the listener the impression that they cannot find comfort in the song despite the moral. This is true for most of the songs on the record, which is why it's so intriguing to me. It's also likely why I was pulled back to this project again and again even after initially thinking it wasn't for me. It's a new, and fresh way to present a song.

~`. final thoughts .`~

Despite my differing opinions on this project over time, I can confidently say that it has now finally met my expectations. I think that there was a valid reason for María to create this project after giving it some proper attention. Not For Radio carries a soul that is similar to The Marías', but they both have different end goals and visions behind them that makes them stand apart from each other despite being similar. I think any fan of The Marías can find something to enjoy from this album, as these two projects are two sides of the same coin.

Here are my favorite tracks from this project (so far):

Puddles
My Turn
Back To You
Swan
Vueltas
Water On Your Nose

I'm not sure what the future is for Not For Radio, and if María will ever attempt to make another solo-album, but I would be eager to see what she would do for her second attempt after seeing what she was able to come up with this first time around. I don't want it to get in the way of The Marías, though, as I think the band is also doing a lot of interesting and new things that should be explored further. Regardless of what happens, I'll be happy as long as I'm enjoying the music. With that, those are all my thoughts that I'm willing to share today! So as always, thank you for reading! I hope everyone has a good (and hopefully productive) finals week!

Earworm ~-~-~o

Thanks for reading!

-Joey :)