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Artist
Brent Palmer
12+ albums
about
As the singer-songwriter genre continues to stumble down the path of homogeneity, Brent Palmer is a rare exception. What makes the casual listener, music enthusiast, even D'Arcy from Smashing Pumpkins appreciate Palmer's fresh approach? The answer is as complex and eclectic as the person himself. Brent credits a handful of contemporary songsmiths as influences, but the family tree traces back to masters like Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney. Palmer says, "I grew up listening to my parents' LPs and saying 'it’s not music unless it has a melody.' I felt songs must be tuneful and have a certain level of craft." Other discoveries helped shape Brent's musical foundation. Bands like Idaho, Echo and the Bunnymen and R.E.M. seemed to get Brent through the high school rejection years. There was even a guitar god period idolizing Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins and Jeff Beck. Solid-gold '80s country records like Alabama's Roll On and Ronnie Milsap's Inside were in heavy rotation on the family Zenith. Push it all through a grinder and what do you get? Musical Haggis? Hardly. More like a promising artist writing heart-melting tender songs, perfect for lovers' mix-tapes or choruses at the Apocalypse. Like a character in a Walker Percy novel, Palmer acts as an observer, retelling his encounters through sweet and sad refrains. One may find Brent singing about end times, hangovers and daggers then suddenly in the next verse, lust, longing and fist kisses. But where did it all begin for Palmer?