GRIFFEN PALMER - Heart of Exes - Big Loud

When his version of “Second Guessing” hit the airwaves earlier this year, singer/songwriter Griffen Palmer earned the tag as a buzzed about artist to watch, making his debut album Unlearn one of the most hotly anticipated this past spring.

He now returns with his first new music since then with “Heart of Exes.”

The song, co-written by Palmer, Hoskins, Jackson Morgan, and Ryan Vojtesak, leans into a simple guitar strum to perfectly accent the pop infused flavor of the melody while allowing proper amount of room for Griffen’s clean vocal to move to the forefront as he pulls through the late night, missing you lyrics that are chalk full of snapshot memories of Lonestar State haunts.

Cleverly placing several Texas references throughout the song, Palmer pulls from his Polaroid filled memory box of what used to be on lines such as “Out in Amarillo, had one hell of a night” and “Dallas is fine, but baby you stole the show,” while also making note of specific distinctions such as them driving down I-35 together while she’s singing along with King George. 

Admitting that his mind stays stuck on her while crying out “Why did I let you go,” he strikes the chorus, taking us directly into his present day where we see him accepting that it’s over as he’s trying to drown out the pulsating memories:

“Now I'm down here sippin' tear filled beers

Holding back that I miss you message

Racked up tab halfway to hurt bad

Buying rounds for all of my questions

I guess this is what it looks like

When a good girl goodbyes

Now I'm 700 miles from her lone star smile confessin'

I'm stuck deep in the heart of Exes

Down down down down down here

Deep in the heart of Exes

Down down down down down here”

With an airy, float on the breeze aura surrounding the hook, the production within the instrumentation expertly captures the up and down emotions that are constantly weighing on his broken heart, giving the entire song its crafty, overall vibe as Palmer tugs the listener’s heartstrings into their own feels as they begin to relive their own forgotten memories of the exes who left they themselves brokenhearted.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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