Written by Brandon George
Iowa-based bassist, singer, and songwriter Pictoria Vark has released the second single off her upcoming album, “The Parts I Dread,” and so begins the Year of the Vark. “Wyoming” is a song that lulls with an upbeat groove and nostalgia only to utterly devastate with incandescent maximalism.
Similar to themes explored in the previous single, “I Can’t Bike,” “Wyoming” is an elegy of the sense of belonging. In speaking about the song, Vark said,
"As I spent time hopping between Wyoming, Iowa, Paris, and New Jersey, these places that inform where (and what) is home started to bleed together… I felt like I was missing New Jersey in Wyoming, and missing Wyoming in Iowa. It didn’t make any sense to me—this track is about that feeling."
“Wyoming” manifests these thoughts not just lyrically but compositionally. Its rollercoaster arc of increasing tempo in the verses and halted, gargantuan choruses relays how fleeting, how messy, and how cathartic the feeling of certainty can be.
This is the kind of song that causes obsessive relistening with its subtleties. After the first explosive crash, the second verse introduces a whimsical synth tiptoeing around the bass and guitars. At moments unexpected and yet meticulously placed, a tone reminiscent of a keyboard drum pad performs delightful little fills to catch the ear, or a gourd twists out it's playful scrapes. The attention to detail is a vivid part of “Wyoming’s” soundscape leading to its ultimate moments.
There is, then, no greater indication of the anticipated grandness of Vark’s upcoming record than “Wyoming’s” finale. After a pair of monumental choruses, Pictoria Vark utters the ruinous lines, “I’m an island in this family/Waive my rights for visiting,” the song pauses, and then it launches into an effervescent moment of raw expression.
An outro barely twenty seconds long filled to the brim with scrambling guitars and synth pads demanding that the listener feel the chaos and tumult Vark is feeling.
“Wyoming” is available on all streaming services now and you can find the music video for it here. “The Parts I Dread” is out April 8th via Get Better Records and can be preordered here. Let us know how excited you are for the upcoming album @lgndsoftmrw.