Independence has arrived at a crucial moment for Palace. The London alt-rock trio’s fifth release, Ox (Palace Presents/AWAL), marks a new chapter for three guys reconsidering their priorities and embracing parenthood. It’s also their first album on their own label, giving them a level of creative autonomy they once considered unimaginable. Recorded with longtime producer Adam Jaffrey, Ox represents a conscious shift from the electronic textures of its 2024 predecessor, Ultrasound. Drawing unlikely inspiration from rootsy staples like the Band and Townes Van Zandt, Palace—guitarist/vocalist Leo Wyndham, guitarist Rupert Turner and drummer Matt Hodges—set out to make something warmer and more organic.
Much of the early writing for Ox took shape during the group’s previous American tour, with mountains, deserts, endless highways and unfamiliar cities providing the backdrop. Yet the album is equally informed by experiences closer to home. Fatherhood has changed Wyndham’s relationship with touring, making extended stretches away from his family increasingly difficult.
Following a sold-out summer performance at London’s Somerset House, Palace has brought Ox to North America for a 27-date tour. MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland grabbed some time with Wyndham between shows.
How has taking greater control over the business side of things affected the creative side?
It’s been liberating, to say the least. It’s certainly taken time to get to this place. It’s freeing and empowering. We have a creative control and autonomy that’s special to have. Our previous label (Fiction) was brilliant, and we love them dearly. But it was an important step for us as people and a band to find our independence to grow.
“Kid” was inspired by the experience of missing your child on the road. How has parenthood changed your relationship with touring?
It’s gut-wrenching and painful to not see your child for several weeks on end. There’s this palpable fear of missing out on seeing them grow and evolve, which certainly is the case when they’re so small and growing fast. At the same time, our kids are very much at the forefront of our minds as we travel from city to city. Having kids has certainly shifted my perspective on life and my general outlook. I’ve certainly been a worrier for as long as I can remember—anxious and often cynical. Having my daughter taught me to realize what’s real and important and of substance. You don’t have time to sweat the small stuff when you have children—you’re too fucking tired.
Though you recorded again with Adam Jaffrey, you pursued a more instinctive, organic approach this time. How have you kept the relationship with Adam from becoming too comfortable or predictable?
Three albums together has made this incredibly deep understanding and bond between us. There’s almost a sort of psychic connection in terms of where the songs need to go. He understands the band as well as we do. After Ultrasound, I asked him where he imagined the next album going, and he quietly said to me, “I feel it should feel like a celebration.” It was almost the exact word me and Ru had used to describe where we saw it going also. We’re so deeply aligned, and Adam is as close to a member of the band as anyone could be. There was certainly an intention this time around to make it feel more like a classic record of the past sonically, with fewer synths and electronics.
The Band and Townes Van Zandt are among the musical reference points for Ox, while Edward Hopper’s paintings provided a visual one. What was it about Hopper’s particular vision of America that connected with you?
I’d say the feelings of a sort of dreamlike Americana idea feature on the record. Lots of the early writing was cooked up when we were on the road there. I remember seeing Edward Hopper’s work in a gallery in Omaha and relating to that sense of isolation, loneliness and quiet that he so often paints. I was on a mental dip in that part of the tour, and seeing that picture sort of spoke to me. There’s a romance for me in that idea of America. Maybe it’s because we’re not from there that we see it that way—and films, of course, contribute to that. I’d say the Band were our number one influence for Ox. We went down giant wormholes these past two years on them—me and Ru particularly. I think we’ve read and shared almost every book on them and devoured their music. They wouldn’t be anything without the other.
There’s a sense throughout Ox that the future is something to be excited about rather than feared.
I’d say I’ve had a deep sense of fear, for sure, with everything going on in the world. I find it deeply troubling, as everyone probably does. But when I look at my child, I see a great sense of hope in her eyes. It gives me belief in humanity that something will change. There’s so much to be grateful for and so much to fight for—and it’s imperative we have hope and look after the generations to come.
See Palace live.