By Amity Hereweard
In Melt, María Zardoya steps outside the aesthetic envelope of The Marías to examine what happens when she removes its defining density. Working with producer-engineers Luca Buccellati and Sam Evian, she trades the L.A. glow of Submarine for the muted palette of a New York winter. The result is a study in restraint as expression in ethereal landscapes.
Where The Marías build warmth through layering, Melt relies on negative space and exotic colors. Each mix places Zardoya’s voice close to the microphone, using proximity effect and soft compression to accentuate breath texture. Vocals are often doubled in parallel octaves or subtle chorus, then diffused with long-tail reverbs that bloom rather than linger. The production treats air as instrumentation with reverb tails and filtered delays.
The record’s rhythmic foundation favors small, self-contained loops, often a drum machine or live kit with minimalist quantization. The bass lines, compressed electric, create forward movement through articulation. This is evident in early cuts like “Puddles” and “My Turn,” where low-frequency energy is sculpted for tone definition. Buccellati’s mix choices draw on trip-hop conventions from Portishead and Broadcast, balancing grit and glide.
Zardoya’s harmonic vocabulary has also expanded. While The Marías often orbit around modal and extended vocal voicings, Melt gravitates toward harmonies that lean into creating an emotional space for the lyrics. On “Moment,” Zardoya’s singing overlays synth pads that subtly modulate a mood more than a chord. This is songwriting that creates tension through phase alignment.
Field-recorded ambiences like the sound of melting ice, muted footsteps, or filtered wind tie the songs to place. Evian’s analog sensibility complements Zardoya’s experimental instinct: Moog sub-lines coexist with tape-saturated guitar swells, bridging organic and digital.
Even the vocal design on “Slip” demonstrates conceptual intent. The spatial effects and synths entirely feed the mood to reveal Zardoya’s tone and emotional grain. It’s a decision that turns vulnerability into architecture.
Melt explores Zardoya’s artistry beyond The Marías’ brand identity. The album positions her as a producer’s vocalist and conceptual storyteller. A songwriter who believes independence means refinement, cutting away until only the essential frequencies remain.
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