Matt Palmer Sings the Blues and Brings the Pain

We are all embroiled in the human condition. Whether you’re gay, straight, black, white, or a wonderful blend of all of the above, you are susceptible to heartache…

…and Matt Palmer empathizes emphatically.

His new single, I Don’t Want It, throws love in the garbage in a defiant act of self-reliance. And according to the alluring artist, it feels good to be a li’l bad.

“I’ve written so many broken-hearted boy songs up to this point,” Palmer tells The Advocate. “Writing a song from the perspective of someone who’s afraid of commitment and, in turn, doing the heart breaking was really fun.”

It is the singer-songwriter’s latest triumph in a career that taps into the universality of loss and longing. The lyrics are an elevated way of expressing the ol’ chestnut it’s not you, it’s me.

But LGBTQ individuals have internalized blame and shame for far too long. Perhaps it’s not the proverbial me who’s to blame for a romance gone sour. Maybe it’s you.

Palmer plays the role of an aloof Romeo with aplomb, even though he is imminently lovable in real life.

The point of I Don’t Want It is to go on the offensive. Gay men can be powerful, seductive and even dismissive. The song turns perception on its head and gives listeners a bracing blast of perspective.

“I’m sure many R&B fans have listened to artists with homophobic or misogynistic points of view,” admits Palmer in a Huffington Post interview. “I combat that by writing autobiographical songs that people outside of my specific demographic can relate to. If someone with no experience with gay people likes my music and can relate to the lyrics, maybe they’ll see that we’re not all that different.”

Even nice guys can strike a villainous pose once in a while, and Palmer is living it up as a character living down his fear of intimacy.

“I didn’t envision myself twirling a fake mustache, therapizing myself, or entering a boxing ring at any point in my life, but I’m thrilled with how it all turned out!”

And you will be double-thrilled to sing along. Matt Palmer’s new EP drops May 28, so get ready to have your expectations (and heart) shattered into a million beautiful pieces.