*Published by Atwood Magazine on Jan. 30, 2025
Pictoria Vark’s upcoming sophomore record, ‘Nothing Sticks,’ comes marked by the artist's emboldened sense of self. Propelled by thrumming instrumentals and a beating heart of change, the project ushers in a new era of acceptance and musical prowess on Vark’s account.
Nothing sticks.
Nothing. Sticks. To mull over those two words is to recognize the nature of life itself: fleeting and impermanent. Together, they act as a memento mori, reminding us that we are ticking time bombs with no predetermined instance of detonation. Yet, in spite of that inevitable, looming day when everything will come crashing down, we do our best to live.
Over the past couple of years, Pictoria Vark (AKA, Victoria Park) has been trying to find a constant; a solid landing place to occupy but for a few moments. But between almost non-stop touring and the occasional foray into existentialism, the only ‘constant’ she has found herself with is emotional whiplash.
Vark’s sophomore album, Nothing Sticks, set for release on March 21 via Get Better Records, is her way of accepting the inevitability of change. But of course, that’s an act that is far easier said than done.
Periods of transition typically bring an abundance of complicated emotions in tow. The floodwaters of change build up and suddenly the dam breaks, letting loose thundering waves of feelings that render the once familiar surroundings unrecognizable.
How do we rebuild and recover what has been lost to an ever-changing life?
“It feels sad and scary when things end,” Vark admits. “Especially when they're things that you like and or love… I've always been a person that's wanted everything good to stick around forever; it's only good if I can have it for as long as possible.”
Walking away from over 150 days on tour and being left with only her memories and experiences was difficult to come to terms with. She had spent so long in the shoes of ‘Pictoria Vark’ that returning to the day-to-day role of Victoria Park had become altogether foreign to her.
In order to make sense of the drastic changes occurring in her life, Vark delved into making Nothing Sticks. Although it is a product of many hours steeped in thought, the project is equally as grounding as it is existentially questioning.
“Whenever we let something go — whether it's a relationship that's not working, a friendship that doesn't fit my life anymore, a job that doesn't make me happy — it opens up more room in our lives for things that do fit and do align,” Vark asserts. “I'm always trying to reframe the 'what if I don't find something this good again' mindset into the 'I would have the room to find something even better if I just let it go,' mindset.”
Nothing Sticks is a lesson in taking things as they come; rolling with the punches. Think of it as a guidebook on being a chiller — in spite of the endless horrors of life.
The process of making Nothing Sticks is almost emblematic of the record’s main messaging. Having traveled from Chicago to Big Nice Studios in Rhode Island, Vark and her producers had a limited amount of time booked to make the record. Instead of trying to painstakingly curate an untouchable magnum opus, Vark leaned into the advantages of having the space for a short time.
“If you think about it, a record is more like a document of a piece of time, rather than this thing on a pedestal that is ultimate or perfect,” she exclaims. “I'm always a believer that finished is better than perfect.”
Within Nothing Sticks, Vark attempts to write herself into the person she would like to be. In 10 tracks, Vark examines the life she has created for herself and chooses what things from the past she’ll carry with her forever, and what she’ll have to let go of. As someone who has spent hours and hours of life perusing through the past, the project has Vark intentionally laying down strong roots in the present.
“Something that is really cool about being a creative person is that you can make the reality that you want,” Vark says. “I'm not always the most optimistic or grounded person in my life. When I write, it's my way of changing the narrative of becoming the more optimistic person that I want to be.”
One thing that has remained — and always will remain — unchanging about Vark is her commitment to music.
“I can't imagine myself as anyone else if I wasn't a musician,” she affirms.
While the way Vark has carried herself throughout her career has fluctuated — she’s been a bassist, a guitarist, a teacher, a band member, an A&R rep — the core part of her has remained tethered to music. Her life line is inextricably intertwined with creation; the bass is her heartbeat and her music is the expression of her soul.
“I'm not begrudgingly doing [music], it's who I am. I can't change or deny it,” she shares. “It's always going to be part of who I am and how I exist in the world.”
Nothing Sticks is a project that listeners are meant to sit with, it is a tool for processing and coming to terms with life in the midst of living it. Life may be fleeting, but its temporary nature is perhaps the very thing that makes it so special. It’s true — nothing sticks — but instead of sitting immobilized by our terror at yet-to-happen changes, Pictoria Vark’s immaculate sophomore record encourages us to embrace what life throws at us and to savor the moments we can.
Continue reading below to learn more about how Pictoria Vark navigates change and the process of making Nothing Sticks.
A CONVERSATION WITH PICTORIA VARK
Atwood: It's been around a year since we last chatted. I wanted to check in and see how you are doing — what's been going on in your world? Seems like you've been busy.
Pictoria Vark: Since we last spoke, I moved to Chicago. It's been really good. I love it here. I'm trying to stay put and be in one place, which is really hard for me, but it's been really rewarding to do that and grow some roots somewhere. The music community here is really amazing. It's also so funny that you say that I’ve been busy, because I feel like every time I talk to any friends of mine or people that keep up with me online, they're like, "You're always traveling, you're always busy." And I'm like, "Am I?" Most of the time I wake up, go to work, do my laundry and try to not leave dishes in the sink. It's always so interesting to hear other people's perception of your life. I want people to know that I'm someone that's around and can be reached out to.
Definitely. What you put out on social media and can create this perception of who you are. That can be either good and bad depending on how you feel. You mentioned that you just moved to Chicago around a year or so ago. I think you were in Iowa City before and then New York before that. How does Chicago compare as a hub of music when comparing it to those other cities?
Pictoria Vark: I love Iowa City so much, it'll always have a special place in my heart. The biggest difference is that, because Chicago is a bigger city, there's a bigger music scene. It’s been really cool to be around a lot of people. There's so many good shows, and also the ability to go to a show alone and trust that I'll either run into someone or make a new friend. I'm always out of town on tour and instead I get to be a person in the scene celebrating other people's music. It feels nice to be able to just be a guy.
I read that you were touring for like, 150 days. It must feel nice to have that settled vibe after being on the move. I guess it's trying to find a balance between both.
Pictoria Vark: Totally. The analogy I use often is that I feel like since 2022 I've been trying to pump the brakes. But if your car is going 90 miles an hour, it's gonna take a while for things to slow down. I feel like it took me 2 years to slow to a halt, and then to only to be like, "Cool, we're gonna start the next album cycle." That has been challenging. Being on tour is so much constant stimulus. I don't know if life-maxxing is the term, but you're gaining a lot of life experience that is de-contextualized from your life. It's similar to the way that vacation adds meaning to your life. It's easy to run away from your life, but on tour you're also still living your life. In some ways, I don't think I've gotten to move on from that year mentally, emotionally and with other people. People still ask me a lot about that time of my life. Even though it's been many years, it keeps me stuck there sometimes.
I love listening to you talk! The way you phrase things is just so narrative based. I love it.
Pictoria Vark: Thank you! That's the other thing that's actually tricky — I'm always trying to make a narrative out of my life and my life experiences. When those things don't congeal into this X, Y, Z, led to the next thing, I feel like I'm running up against a wall because I can't make a narrative of it. It's easier for me as a storyteller, as someone with an internal monologue, to just make it into a neat little package.
You've been working with Get Better Records for a bit now. What has that collaboration with such an awesome grassroots label been like?
Pictoria Vark: It has been a dream come true. I feel really lucky to have their support and to work with them and have a shared alignment of values.Watching them grow as a label over the last few years has been really amazing. I truly have nothing but the best things to say about them. It feels really, really aligned and really awesome.
It often feels like the way some artists talk about their relationship with their labels, it's them versus the label. But with me and Get Better Records, it feels like it's us together versus capitalism, versus industry standards, versus the systems that are oppressing us. Again, much more in line with my values and my lived experience.
That's amazing. I feel like it comes through how passionate you are and how you carry yourself. Music is part of your life in so many different ways, but it's never something that's entirely negative. Music is so different in your touring capacity, it's different in your job capacity, it's different in your capacity as an artist working with the label. I think it's so great that you still have that light behind your eyes — at least it seems like that from my point of view.
Pictoria Vark: I'm glad it seems like that. This is also something both my therapist and someone who read my Tarot said: sometimes I seem really put together, and it's hard for people to tell, when I'm actually not doing so well. It took a while to get to this point. There have definitely been ups and downs with why I'm doing this and also some experiences where I just don't get as much out of it as I used to, or some of the magic that made me fall in love with it has faded away, but it's such a deep love. I can't imagine myself as anyone else if I wasn't a musician. That also ties to the album and the album's themes of: I made music my life, and is that the right thing to do?
That was a perfect segue into my next question about the album. By the time this interview goes live, you'll have announced the release of your newest record. What can the listeners expect from Nothing Sticks?
Pictoria Vark: Listeners can expect fuller arrangements. I think they're better songs, and I have a lot more confidence as an artist. It's an album of me expanding on the work that we did, on parts I dread, and perfecting everything.
Can you tell me a little bit about just the inspiration for the title of the record?
Pictoria Vark: It comes from a line on the eighth track, called "Where It Began." The line is: "I feel sad because nothing sticks," and I feel like it perfectly encapsulates what these songs are all about. I've always been a person that's wanted everything good to stick around forever; it's only good if I can have it for as long as possible. Whether it's staying in relationships that aren't working, or trying so hard for something to fit into my life instead of letting it go. It feels sad and scary when things end, especially when they're things that you like and or love. These kinds of feelings became more present, because when I walked away from half a year on tour and all I had were my memories and my experiences. It made me feel very existential and very alone. It was like, if The Parts I Dread was created in an internal-facing way. I made it because I needed to express myself in a way about these experiences I was having. Nothing Sticks was made more as if I have the time and the space and whatever platform to say something, what do I want to say? It's definitely meant more like a direct address, just trying to give myself and others the space to let go of things.
That's so important. You do a really great job of balancing the emotions that come with losing things, and also comforting listeners and being like: "This is just something that happens and you're still here, so you can persevere through this even though it might be hard." That's something that you've been able to do with your past album and this album.
Pictoria Vark: That really means a lot. Something that is really cool about being a creative person is that you can make the reality that you want.I'm not always the most optimistic or grounded person in my life. When I write, it's my way of changing the narrative of becoming the more optimistic person that I want to be.
It’s kind of like manifestation in a way.
Pictoria Vark: Totally. Affirmations are just you changing your thoughts. It takes some time to hook into your brain, especially if you have automatic negative thoughts like me.
I've talked to some artists before who have said something similar. They write lyrics specifically about what they want to be and embody. Singing it over and over again helps them keep it present in their mind. It's such a cool thing that you can do as an artist, change who you are, just by putting it out into the universe over and over again.
Pictoria Vark: That's directly related to something I wrote in the last track called "We're Musicians." I was thinking about how I have a really hard time writing choruses — I'm so much better at writing verses. And then I was like, every verse becomes a chorus with each subsequent performance. Meaning, if you sang a song multiple times, that makes every verse a chorus.
That's a great way of thinking of it. I'm gonna think of that for the rest of my life. Just some life altering sentences that you've said to me.
Pictoria Vark: Very casual.
Let's talk about the two lead singles. When I listened to them I immediately knew why you chose them. They're so punchy and they just get your attention. What makes a track lead single worthy? How do you go about choosing what is representative of this project before the project initially comes out?
Pictoria Vark: I have a tough time choosing singles — how I picked a lot of the singles for this record was by making my own 'focus group' of my closest friends and asking which singles should be the singles. On top of that, "San Diego" was my engineer and one of our co-producer's favorite songs. When he initially heard the album, that's the song that immediately clicked for him and for my friend Gavin, who also co- produced and helped arrange a lot of these songs. That was one song where he heard it and knew exactly what needed to happen there. That was kind of the affirmation — if the people that are making it with me love this song, let's do it. I don't think we've done an acoustic guitar track with drums that has that feel but I think it's a perfect way to kick off the next kind of cycle of things.
You play guitar on a couple of tracks on this record — I know bass is your principal instrument, and you initially write songs with the bass. For those two tracks that have you playing guitar on Nothing Sticks, did you still start with the guitar, or was it more similar to your typical songwriting process?
Pictoria Vark: Another thing I love about "San Diego" is that it was the first song in maybe 5 years that I wrote on guitar. It was really cool to write that part on guitar and be more free form with it and then write the bass line on top of that. The way I was rhythmically accentuating things gave over to creating melodies that laid the groundwork for Gavin to make the drum group fit the bass and expand upon these ascending and descending lines in both the guitar parts and the string arrangements. It felt like such a collaborative way to build things. It was cool to be a bassist in a regular sense on my own music.
It's really cool how you said that the guitar was easier to write with in a way, where you didn't put as much songwriting pressure on yourself, because the guitar isn't your principal instrument.
Pictoria Vark: It's like when you write on an instrument you're less familiar with, you don't feel as bad when you make mistakes or when you're "Oh, that was a wrong note." Maybe that's one of the limitations of working on an instrument you know super well, because it challenges your self-perception.
The production on this record is pretty different from the lockdown-era production of The Parts I Dread. Can you tell me about the process working at Big Nice studio?
Pictoria Vark: It was the most magical vibe. It was the first time that I have recorded my music in a studio ever, so that was super exciting. I loved that because I had traveled, we had very strict time limitations on how long we could work on it. For a lot of artists, you can get so stuck in getting everything perfect, or if you know you are working at a home studio or somewhere where you live, if you don't get it done this week you can just book more time in a couple weeks or months. That can go on for years. Whereas I just wanted to do it in this time frame, and do it and not overthink it. It's not only helpful as an impatient aries moon who wants to keep things moving, but also to not overwork something to the point that it loses its magic.
Speaking of magic, my favorite memory of last year was when Gavin basically lived at Big Nice. Every day we would have this routine where we would wake up at 9 a.m., work with Brad and Tori and they would leave at 5 or 6 p.m. and then we would go on a walk around the nature area that was right by the studio, go out to dinner, come back either with some beers or whatever, do our mix notes or anything else that we needed to do for the night, put music on the expensive sneakers and play pool, and then go to bed. We just lived and breathed it every day. It was just like summer camp. It felt — again — like magic to be just doing your creative practice all day.
That's so awesome, so immersive. I really like how the time limit didn't impede you, but rather had you go for it and not overthink. That's so beautiful.
Pictoria Vark: If you think about it, a record is more like a document of a piece of time, rather than this thing on a pedestal that is ultimate or perfect. I'm always a believer that finished is better than perfect. That's one of my strengths as an artist and a writer.
This whole process captures the ethos of the record — everything is fleeting, so why not make the most of it?
Pictoria Vark: You're not always going to reach the most ultimate, pinnacle piece of art by working the same thing over and over. Just let something be done and then move on to the next thing. That's easier in my creative practice than in my life as a person.
That’s okay, Victoria Park is different from Pictoria Vark. This record is super lyric forward. How do lyrics come to you? Are they more of a spontaneous thing throughout the day, or are they a premeditated: “I'm gonna sit down and write some lyrics” — or maybe a mix of both?
Pictoria Vark: Definitely a mix of both. It's also physically hand writing songs all over again. Sometimes the act of doing that allows me to come up with new lines. Working it out in that way, instead of going back to the same sheet of paper is maybe similar to what I was talking about where done is better than perfect. I need that act of starting fresh, getting a blank page, even if it's the same words. Something else that I feel like is always true with my reading or my lyric writing process, is sometimes I'll have 90% of a song done, and one or two lines that I'm not happy with. What I'll do is I'll write 10 different options for them, and I'll just keep coming up with them until I come to the one that I think makes the best fit. Sometimes my way of working things out, or making the song stronger is Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, which is basically for unblocking your inner artist. It was helpful in terms of unblocking things and adding something new to my creative practice.
Are you a melody or lyrics first person? What gets the songwriting going?
Pictoria Vark: It's lyrics and bass, or lyrics and guitar in some cases, and then toying with different melodies. I haven't been a melodies first person. What's different about this record is that I was thinking a lot more about harmony and song structure, they were more guiding principles than on the previous record. Trying to implement more interesting or expansive song structures; having stronger choruses, having pre-choruses, having bridges, doing stuff like that as a way, compared to The Parts I Dread, which was verse and chorus, very much simpler in its song structures. The other thing I wanted to do was have more interesting chord changes, having a wider palette of harmony and harmonic options. Those are the two things that probably changed the most from last record to this record.
I had a friend that sent me some questions to think about in regard to a 'brand' or whatever and what my purpose as an artist is. I think I make music to walk around to. This is music if you're walking around and soaking it in.
Yeah, it's definitely well-suited to speed walking on the New York sidewalk. There are definitely some songs off of this record that take the time to reflect on the place of music in your life. I wanted to turn that question back on you, if it's even something that you were able to find when you were writing this record. What is music's place in your life?
Pictoria Vark: When I was touring so much at 23, my other friends had more stable, full time jobs. They weren't moving around all the time. They had partners. They were building lives; I had friends that were getting married, and it was just not my reality, not really something that I was doing. I almost felt like, "Is this wrong? Is this the wrong way to live life?" I don't know if I'm building toward anything, but I think what's scary about all of that is how quickly your stable life can be turned around. Someone can get really sick, something really tragic can happen. You can lose your home in a fire, and that is almost more heartbreaking for me to think about — we as humans are longing for this security, longing for something stable to count on, and it's just not a guarantee anywhere. It was my precarity in my lifestyle that just brought it to the surface more than anything else. In terms of music's place in my life, I think I have accepted the fact that I'm a musician. It's something where I'm not begrudgingly doing [music], it's who I am. I can't change or deny it. It's always going to be part of who I am and how I exist in the world. I'm finding a place where music doesn't have to be in my entire life; it can still be a part of my life or a bigger part of my life, but when I was touring so much, I was also running away from my life a little bit. I would like to have a life that includes music, if that makes sense.
I love how much this album feels so informed by life. Everything you're saying is so introspective; the thing you said about touring helping you to avoid the ‘Victoria Park’ part of life is such a courageous realization. I'm so proud of you and excited for you!
Pictoria Vark: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to share this. I've been so impatient, just sitting on my hands, but I'm just trying to just revel in the excitement. I needed to write this so that I could have the language to figure out how to let go of things as someone who's always thinking about the past, thinking about so many people that I was friends with, or being willing to let things go that aren't working out or don't fit — which is really hard for me. Making this album gave me the language and the space to do that, and I hope that it will impart on others.
I think it definitely will. Even having the title be Nothing Sticks starts that dialogue of: "Oh, what in my life is not sticking and what should stick? And how do I let go of things that I want to stick and just aren't?" It's so important.
Pictoria Vark: Thanks, I love that. The title cuts right to the point of what it's about.
I also love what you said about this record kind of being sponsored by your community. It's such a beautiful thing that you're talking about; crowdsourcing from your friends to pick the singles, working with your friends to produce the record, and just having a great time in general. It's so beautiful to have a community within the music industry, which can be so isolating and lonely, and to work with your friends just seems like such a gift.
Pictoria Vark: Definitely. One thing I thought about with one of the things that I struggled with when I was on tour was — you know, the meme that's like: "I did X, Y and Z and all I got was this t-shirt"? I was just like, "Why am I spending so much money making t-shirts?" I really struggled with that, because I didn't see the value, or it didn't feel like it had a direct value. I was like, if I'm going to spend money to make music and on my art, and I would rather have it be something that is a beautiful experience. Regardless of what happens with the album, I will not feel bad about the time and the money I spent on it — so much of that was just paying my friends well, having cool experiences with my friends, working on projects with them — that felt really rewarding.
My second to last question is inspired by a quote you gave on the bio for the record: “Everything we want to last, whether it’s a relationship, a moment, a career, or a way of life, will come to an inevitable end. While dark at first glance, I find it to be a more neutral statement; only when we accept it as a fact of life can we imbue our time on Earth with more meaning.” I was wondering, how do you balance this acceptance of time running out, with this ability to stay rooted in the present? How do you acknowledge it and not obsess over it? If that's something that you're, you're able to do.
Pictoria Vark: I'm working on it. If anything, I think whenever we let something go — whether it's a relationship that's not working, a friendship that doesn't fit my life anymore, a job that doesn't make me happy — it opens up more room in our lives for things that do fit and do align. I'm always trying to reframe the 'what if I don't find something this good again' mindset into the 'I would have the room to find something even better if I just let it go,' mindset. I still struggle with it. If anything, it's made me more of a document-everything kind of person — taking more photos when you hang out with friends, taking film photos, journaling, writing everything down. Make an archive of your life, because it'll go by so fast.
Savoring the moments that may not last, but you'll have evidence of them.
Pictoria Vark: Or it's at least trying to remember them. You don't have to store it in your brain to remember them. Write about it as soon as it happens, and then you don't have to worry about forgetting about it. You don't have to think about it all the time.
We're at my last question now, and it's really simple. I asked you this the last time I interviewed you. What has been giving you joy lately?
Pictoria Vark: Let me think. My friends, I feel really lucky. I just have the most amazing friends, and some friends that if I think about them too much, I might start crying. I love my friends so much. Just hanging out with them. That's, that's what's giving me joy. Oh, and going bowling, One of my New Year's resolutions, and arguably the most important one, is that I'm trying to bowl consistently over 100.
That’s so exciting. What a good hobby.
Pictoria Vark: It's been really fun. I love it.
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