ALBUM REVIEW: Palmyra Builds Something Big on Debut Album ‘Restless’

Palmyra, the historic site in modern-day Syria, is known for its ruins of a once mighty ancient city. Palmyra the band has seen its share of hardship and destruction, too, but the Virginia trio is using those experiences to build something awe-inspiring.

With a sound that can swing from tender, banjo-driven folk to all-out indie rock — often in the same song — Palmyra doesn’t sugarcoat their pain on their debut full-length album, Restless. Sasha Landon, Teddy Chipouras, and Mānoa Bell take on mental health struggles, gender dysphoria, loneliness, and more in plainspoken but powerful lyrics, sometimes delivered in nearly a whisper, but more often as a roar.

The album’s title conveys the theme: the ache of wanting to find a niche, to pursue a purpose, to know one’s direction, and the searing frustration of feeling lost. The title track captures that tension right off the bat, opening the album with pure, gorgeous, three-part vocal harmony:

The older I get the more restless I get
And when do I get to start settling down
The nights I’ll remember, the days I’ll forget
How many more ’til the ground?

But soon the song explodes into a heavier sound, with heavier lyrics. Electric guitars and drums are augmented by string flourishes. “The truth is I’ve never been anywhere further from fine,” Landon sings. And that’s just the first of many hard truths Palmyra offers here.

“Palm Readers” captures a moment when Landon was just out of an outpatient mental health program and learning how to care for themselves, preoccupied with the past and present because the future seemed too uncertain. It’s a particular moment from one person’s life, but when the chorus of “I’m so damn lonely tonight” hits, the wall between listener and artist dissolves, and it’s not hard to imagine singing along full-blast at a cathartic live show.

“Shape I’m In” also grapples with Landon’s mental health, this time in the aftermath of a bipolar diagnosis, with lyrics delivered through gritted teeth before blooming into a scream. Landon issues a string of apologies and describes with moving honesty the highest highs and lowest lows, and the struggle to make sense of it all.

“Arizona” is another standout. A reflection on a road trip Chipouras once took with his brother, it’s a laid-back groove that brings listeners along for the feeling of pause and renewal that long drives and beautiful scenery can bring.

The foundation of Palmyra is the friendship between Landon, Chipouras, and Bell, who were classmates at James Madison University and formed a band based on equal partnership. They’re vulnerable with each other, and that comes out in their songs. With a couple years of buzz behind them and this powerful debut to share, it’s an open road ahead, and the ruins seem firmly in the rearview.

Palmyra’s Restless is out March 28 on Oh Boy Records.