María Zardoya launched her solo project Not For Radio with an opening night that held a few surprises. Performing her first show under the new name at Oakland’s Fox Theater, she played selections from her album Melt and introduced three songs that have yet to be released. One standout moment came from a track far older than the rest of the material on the setlist, her take on Radiohead’s “Nude.”
The 2007 song appeared partway through the night, landing nine tracks into the 15 song set. It was placed between “Slip” and “Swan,” both taken from Melt, giving the cover a natural home within the flow of the performance.
Zardoya also made sure longtime fans had something familiar to hold onto during the first of her three scheduled nights at the venue. She performed “No One Noticed” from Submarine before revealing the new track “Ache,” choosing an extended version that featured extra lyrics not included in the original release.
“My intention with this project was to make music for the love of experimenting, far from home, fully in the moment, open to whatever stream of consciousness unfolded around us,” Zardoya wrote on Instagram when announcing Melt as her album as Not For Radio. “And that’s exactly what we did in the snowy woods, tucked away, as ice melted beneath our feet and as we melted into the songs. What grew from the melted ice is this album.”
In a four star review of the album, Rolling Stone praised the record, writing, “All of it paints portraits of Lynchian terrain that’s dark, romantic, and ever enthralling, with songs that feel unafraid to experiment and emote as they recall everyone from Radiohead to William Basinski to Julee Cruse. The trio let their imaginations drift, stretching out ideas of structure and frolicking with unexpected arrangements, often midsong.”
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