Palmyra Announces New Album Restless

Virginia trio Palmyra are aiming for a big break in 2025, as they’ve officially signed with John Prine’s Oh Boy Records and have announced their debut album, Restless. The record is set to come out March 28, and it’s being introduced with the (potentially Band-referencing?) lead single “Shape I’m In.” The song was also a marquee part of Palmyra’s Tiny Desk Concert submission in 2024. Listening to it, it’s clear that Palmyra aren’t just on the rise; Sasha Landon. Mānoa Bell and Teddy Chipouras are here to challenge complacency, not just in the Deep South but globally. Their music taunts capitalism and oppression while it wrestles with gender dysphoria, mental health and geographical history. Existing somewhere in the lineage of Band of Horses, Bright Eyes and Julien Baker, “Shape I’m In” is a spiritual, tender trip unbound to any one genre. It’s the kind of song that can make a band unforgettable, and Palmyra are certainly not leaving my radar anytime soon. It’s a good thing the band named their album Relentless.

Landon says of “Shape I’m In,” “I remember first showing an early version of ‘Shape I’m In’ to Mānoa and Teddy in the basement of Mercury Lounge in New York City, and trying (and failing at the time) to figure out how to distill the message into something less chaotic. I was trying to make sense of the symptoms of a Bipolar diagnosis—intrusive thought loops, sleeplessness, manic depression—and how that was impacting and rapidly changing my relationships with folks I love. As the song grew during our performances and in the studio, we realized what ‘Shape I’m In’ needed wasn’t big changes to distill a message; it needed us to make an arrangement and performance that could capture that feeling of not being able to make sense of the world around you.”

In 2024, Palmyra played a Paste Session at Merlefest, performing “Shape I’m In” and two other tracks (“Speak My Mind,” “Happy Pills”). The trio met as students in a songwriting class at James Madison University. Their chemistry is unbelievable. This is a band to keep your eye on.