Host Lisa Mullins speaks with Manoa Bell, Teddy Chipouras and Sasha Landon, the trio that make up Palmyra. The Richmond, Virginia, band has just released their first full-length album, "Restless."
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The fear of appearing naked in front of your classmates is compelling proof of a collective unconscious — it’s one of the most common nightmare scenarios despite almost no one experiencing it in their waking life. The dressing down Palmyra received every week in their college songwriting class is the closest most people can get.Mānoa Bell, Teddy Chipouras, and Sasha Landon forged their friendship in a James Madison University seminar that required each student to pitch and perform a composition to the class. “And then it would get torn to shreds,” Landon deadpans, not just by their peers, but the professor as well. Landon was making rudimentary trap beats throughout the semester before sharing their singer-songwriter debut, a song called “One Track Mind”; Ojo Taylor, the former bassist of Christian punk institution Undercover, replied thusly: “Why did you make this?”
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Palmyra is a bit restless. Their emotions knot into a mangled ball, almost suffocating them.“Early hours in the morning, tossing and turning/ Everyone else in this house is asleep,” Sasha Landon pours into the microphone. “Palm Readers” emerges integral to the band’s new musical chapter. Aptly titled Restless, this album marks their debut with Oh Boy Records. It’s like reintroducing themselves to the world.The trio – rounded out with Teddy Chipouras and Mānoa Bell – pounces from the get-go. Similar to The Lone Bellow’s tightly wound vocal work, their harmonies exude a vintage richness throughout as they do on the title track and opener. It’s quite evident that they take their work seriously, down to the lilt of their voices as they glide through the air. Palmyra makes you believe they’ve been singing together for decades, their harmonies are so electric and full of life.
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Looking for the week’s best new music? Check out our Songs You Need to Know playlist
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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.
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“We’re so excited to welcome Palmyra to Oh Boy! The energy and vitality of their performances grab you right away, but what really stays with you is the depth of their songwriting - songs that tackle the struggle to make sense of yourself and the world around you. I think they’ve been able to resonate with audiences so deeply because of the honesty and vulnerability in their songs. This is music that is much needed in the world.” - Jody Whelan, Managing Partner, Oh Boy.
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