Photo by Kenny Heggie

It’s becoming clearer with each new song which Pictoria Vark writes that the strength being wielded within her songcraft of indie rock is one where its strike with the sharpest points of humility in it all. “Make Me A Sword”, the latest preview from the Illinois-based artist’s sophomore effort, Nothing Sticks, doesn’t skew far away from the genre’s most traditionalist structures or instruments — it’s led bass-first by Park’s rhythmic hand emblazoned by a chaser of blistering riffs and epiphanic drum crashes, though the low-level synth hum keeps the mighty small enough to contain with a room or a car ride. That allows ample space for her severe introspection on the art of coping mechanisms as well as when to let them go, hindering the listen upon its own emo allegory. “You said the strings would set me free / To keep me on a golden leash / And I’ll never stop performing / I’ll play the fool I’ll always be,” she sings, though this jester brandishes vulnerability like a coat of armor.

Directed by: Haoshu Sascha Deng

Pictoria Vark’s Nothing Sticks will be released March 21st on Get Better Records.