Elaine Palmer | Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold

Elaine Palmer: Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold

(Butterfly Effect Records)

CD | LP | DL

Out 24 April 2026

PRE-ORDER HERE

Taking inspiration from both the depths of North Yorkshire and the heartland of Arizona, country-folk artist Elaine Palmer releases her new mini album, Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold. This is a stunning a collection of songs which is consumed with a deep sense of haunting beauty and poignant melancholy as well as a sound which has the ability to transcend the boundaries of emotional consciousness. Ian Corbridge gets totally absorbed for Louder Than War…..

It has been my long-held view that music as an art form really does have no boundaries and continues to inform and inspire all those that choose to be surrounded by it. Set against this context there is always the exciting possibility that something comes along in the world of music that you just did not expect which can more than just surprise you and actually transport you to what feels like an as yet unchartered part of your subconscious mind. And this has just happened to me as soon as I started making my way through the new mini album by country-folk artist Elaine Palmer.

Elaine Palmer grew up in an old watermill within an isolated village in rural North Yorkshire, spending much of her life travelling back and forth to family in Phoenix, Arizona. From an early age she immersed herself in music and started writing songs influenced by her surroundings both in the UK and USA, developing a repertoire which blended alternative country, Americana, folk and country rock. Elaine’s distinctive rich and expressive vocal style is characterised by her slightly husky tones, bluesy edge and the strong emotional depth which she carries through in every song she writes and performs. All of these qualities were on full display in Elaine’s most recent album Half Moon Rising which was recorded in San Diego in 2024.

For anyone who cares to listen to Elaine’s previous work, it is obvious that artists such as Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and even Joan Baez will undoubtedly have shaped her craft, as well as sharing stages with the likes of KT Tunstall, Patty Griffin, Courtney Marie Andrews and The Delines. I would also suggest that her artistry sits easily alongside other contemporary country-folk artists such as Katherine Priddy, Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt and Laura Marling.

Now Elaine Palmer releases her new album, Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold, which immediately feels like a natural follow up to Half Moon Rising in both sound and style. As for the album title, Elaine explains this as “a study of character. It comes from the old Yorkshire saying ‘to seek silver’ is to seek inner peace, enlightenment and wisdom. To choose the right path over status ego, greed and material worth…whereas to seek Gold is all of those things, to choose power and wealth over people and honesty. Two paths, two choices, two lives.” In essence it contrasts Elaine’s own two worlds, with her upbringing and life in an isolated part of Yorkshire and her constant travels to family in Arizona.

The album started life in Northern Ireland at the isolated Amberville Studios, Co. Antrim, once built for Van Morrison, where drums, bass and vocals were laid down and captured by producer/engineer Stevie Scullion. Elaine then crossed the Atlantic to complete the album at Half Moon Studios high in the San Diego hills under the jurisdiction of producer and musician Mike Butler, thereby creating the perfect blends of influences from both the UK and USA. Alongside Elaine who was on vocals, guitar, piano, and organ, she also had Mike Butler on guitar, Christopher Coll on bass and Declan McManus on drums.

Opening song on the album, Some Seek Silver speaks of a guiding light who entered her world as a “life-line just at the right time” but whose paths have now separated, yet the impact of their relationship remains, noting how “it changed everything.” It’s a song which simply shimmers with an ethereal glow as its reflective tone and transcendent melancholy vibe create such a beautiful setting surrounding this story of a lost love. In just three short minutes I feel like I have been transported to a previously unchartered level of emotional intensity, which to be honest rarely lifts as this magnificent collection of songs unfolds around my ears.

I Still Feel The Same has a more resilient feel about it as Elaine declares, “I want to sell our souls to the rock and the roll” in what is a much rockier alternative country setting, with the beautiful closing refrain on the lead guitar having such an evocative quality. Meanwhile Roses strips the sound right back to the delicate balance of Elaine’s haunting yet defiant vocals, which shimmer with a spectral elegance, set against a lightly plucked guitar which creates its own sense of mystique as she heeds the stark warning that “time it’s never really on your side you know, we only have so many sunrises to go.”

Once Were Lovers is a stark and eerie ballad which oozes loneliness, solitude, and tragedy which is not surprising given that its inspiration comes from an old haunting folklore tale relating to the ‘Legend of the Lovers’. It’s a story focused on a forbidden romance between a monk and a nun which, once discovered, ultimately resulted in their deaths. The sense of desperation in Elaine’s layered vocals is palpable alongside the dark and intense soundscapes created by the blend of guitar, bass and keys which evoke the image of the windswept moors of Elaine’s homeland. Meanwhile The Losing Hand is a soulful blast of classic Americana with its ragged electric guitar and slow-burning rhythms drawing strongly on the influence of Lucinda Williams as Elaine makes it very clear through her emotionally exposed vocals that she is not happy to lose out on matters of the heart…..so beware!

As for Telling Of The Bees, which again allows Elaine to reflect on the story of a lost love one as she now recognises the fact that “I don’t really know who you are now, I’m not sure if I ever did way back then,” well, what can I say about this? From the moment the song opens with Elaine’s mournful yet crystal clear vocals alongside the gentle strumming of her acoustic guitar, the next four minutes unfold into what I consider to be one of the most beautiful and haunting ballads I have heard in a very long time. To channel such an emotive feeling in a song with such purity and a true sense of longing is to me a touch of sheer class bordering on genius.

In the closing song, The Wildest Storms, Elaine draws on her strong sense of resilience and self-belief as she ploughs her own lonely furrow of redemption through this message of hope for the future, suggesting that however bad things may get, “There will come a dawn,
to let the light back in.”

Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold is a glorious collection of songs which draw on some of the most significant legacies that folk and country music have to offer but all of which are delivered by Elaine Palmer in her very own style, with strikingly beautiful vocals which shimmer in the light amidst the darkness and intensity of her own emotions, thereby creating such a powerful and evocative feel. It is a stunning representation of the art of Americana which simply oozes emotional intensity yet also a haunting fragility, all of which fosters a deep sense of transcendent melancholy which will penetrate the soul of anyone who cares to listen.

In summary: Some Seek Silver, Some Seek Gold – one voice, seven songs, mind blown. Perfection is a tough objective to achieve but according to my ears and my soul, Elaine Palmer has achieved it through this collection of songs.

Elaine Palmer has announced a number of live shows to promote the new album which are as follows:

April
22 – Nerd Diner FORLIMPOPOLI ITALY
23 – Ego Lounge FERRARA ITALY
24 – Circolo Progresso FIRENZE ITALY
25 – Circolo ADMR CHIARI ITALY
May
13 – The Fringe BRISTOL
15 – Wood Festival OXFORD
16 – Betsey Trotwood LONDON
30 – Red Rooster Festival CAMBRIDGE
June
18 – The Cumberland Arms NEWCASTLE
20 – Toft House, MIDDLESBROUGH

You can buy tickets for live shows here.

You can pre-order the album here.

You can find Elaine Palmer on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp and her website.

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All words by Ian Corbridge. You can find more of his writing at his author profile here.