B-Side Guys

The desert has long held a mystical allure for those seeking reinvention, its vast expanses promising both clarity and rebirth. Virginia trio Palmyra captures this transformative power in “Arizona,” their second single from their upcoming record “Restless.” Released in February 2025, the track arrives like a sunbeam through winter clouds—a reminder that somewhere, warmth persists.

Palmyra—comprised of Manoa, Teddy, and Sasha—crafts a deceptively simple folk-rock arrangement that gradually reveals its emotional depths. The track begins with delicate fingerpicked guitar before blossoming into a tapestry of traditional string instrumentation and foot percussion. What distinguishes Palmyra from their contemporaries is their masterful vocal harmonizing, creating an auditory illusion that suggests a much larger ensemble.

The lyrics chronicle a southwestern escape during 2020’s uncertainty, with the narrator pleading repeatedly, “Leave me open, Arizona.” When they sing “I was at a payphone in Sedona calling someone falling/Up over my head and back to Boston leave me in the desert please,” the tension between connection and isolation becomes palpable. The imagery grows more vivid as “Purple stained the cliffs and took the blue right out from underneath my feet,” capturing the disorienting beauty of the Arizona landscape.

The production thoughtfully mirrors this sense of expansiveness, with reverb-drenched vocals that echo across the mix like voices bouncing off canyon walls. Despite their Appalachian and Midwestern Americana influences, Palmyra avoids falling into traditional folk trappings by incorporating subtle progressive elements that keep the arrangement unpredictable.

Perhaps most poignant is the track’s meditation on memory’s impermanence: “Kinda sad to think that I’ll forget this view someday/Lose the little things more every time we sleep.” This acknowledgment of fleeting experience gives “Arizona” its emotional gravity, suggesting that even our most profound moments of clarity eventually fade.

For a band formed in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Palmyra demonstrates remarkable ability to channel the distinctive spirit of the American Southwest. In “Arizona,” they’ve created not just a song but a sensory experience—a temporary escape that, like the desert itself, leaves listeners transformed and yearning for return.