Review: María Zardoya’s ‘Not For Radio’ reinterprets ‘Swan Lake’ as metamorphosis for the Marias’ front woman

While the Golden Globes were happening 2,000 miles away Sunday night, María Zardoya was creating something cinematic and award-worthy all her own at the Auditorium: a concert spectacular called “Winter in the Garden” that was so visual and conceptual, it would’ve made even Guillermo Del Toro and Tim Burton giddy.

Sunday was just the fifth date of the inaugural tour to promote Zardoya’s new solo venture, “Not For Radio,” in which she performed the entirety of the lush debut album “Melt,” released by Atlantic in October. It’s a passion project she’s often described as an “alternate reality” from her day job as the front woman of indie pop band the Marías, and a rebuttal to creating any music deemed pop (hence the Not For Radio pledge). But the auteur also went to great lengths to provide a vessel to escape real-life doldrums in 80 minutes.

The show was conceived as a reinterpretation of the beloved ballet “Swan Lake,” capturing its themes of love, betrayal and sacrifice in a theatrical three-act suite that felt symbolic of Zardoya’s own metamorphosis into a fully fledged woman on her own musical path.

As the curtains opened, Zardoya was crouched on a labyrinth of faux grass while, behind her, a massive painted backdrop depicted a menacing forest in gray tones that looked like it wanted to swallow her whole. Candelabras decorated every pocket of the stage with enough lit candles to start another Chicago fire, and a sexy saxophone revved up the night’s musical overture. To capture the look of the swan, Zardoya partnered with designer Alexander McQueen on a pair of giant ruffled, feathered overcoats (white and black) that made bold statements the same way Bjork did with her swan dress 25 years ago at the Oscars.

A playbill was handed out to patrons that explained this all in great detail, including the fact that Zardoya purposefully chose the winter to stage the show to mirror the environments in which she originally wrote the album during a time in “snowy upstate New York” in January 2025.

“Touring it during the same time of year it was written felt important to me,” she shared in the program, “so you could feel what the air felt like as we made these songs: the cold on our skin, the freshness of a new year, and the calm of introspection.”

The Auditorium also felt colder than normal on this night, which, intentional or a thermostat issue, was another visceral touch.

Nature nurtured the genesis of “Melt” as Zardoya dialed into the spirituality of the wind, water and air to find her lyrical thread for the 10-track stunner, which calls to mind early Bat For Lashes and Beach House. The songs swim in layers of psychedelic indie pop tones and heavy synths and strings courtesy of a substantial nine-piece band. Songs like the downtempo jazz of “Puddles” were more obvious tributes to Mother Earth, while others, like the hushed lullaby “Swan,” tapped into greater questions of existentialism and purpose of being. As Zardoya sang the song’s lyrics, “part of me is a part of you,” she reached out to grasp hands in the front row, with the graced few reacting as if they had been touched by a holy power.

The packed crowd, made up largely of young Latinos, represents the larger flock of Zardoya’s devout followers who in recent years (whether discovering her through the Marías or her work with Bad Bunny and Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco) have given the Puerto Rican-born artist demigod status, especially exulted when she sang the track “Vueltas” in her native Spanish. It’s the Lana Del Rey effect with Zardoya’s sad-core music and gothic romanticism tapping into a Gen Z ennui. It was evident via the constant delivery of “I love you!” screams that broke through the silence in between songs and the fact that everyone knew to dress up in their best Dracula vampire ball attire for the special performance, clearly by paying close attention to Zardoya’s branding on social media for cues.

In addition to all 10 tracks from “Melt,” the night offered one song from the Marías (the viral “No One Noticed,” which netted the group’s “best new artist” nomination at this year’s Grammys) and a cover of Radiohead’s “Nude.” The British experimentalists were inspirational fodder for Zardoya and her band as they worked on the album in the New York Catskills. As was Hope Sandoval, who you could hear all over the Mazzy Star-esque new track “Ache,” one of the standouts of the night with a heavier rock sound that shows the project’s early evolution and points to a bright future. This time next year, don’t be surprised if Zardoya is nominated for “best new artist” again — with “Not For Radio,” there’s a clear signal that she’s one to watch.

Not for Radio set list at the Auditorium Jan. 11

Puddles
Moment
Magnet
Living Room (new song)
Water On Your Nose
My Turn
Comet (new song)
Slip
Nude (Radiohead cover)
Swan
Not the Only One
Vueltas
No One Noticed (the Marías)
Ache (new song)
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