Video Premiere: Elaine Palmer “The Losing Hand”

Yorkshire singer-songwriter Elaine Palmer has released a new single to follow up 2024’s acclaimed album “Half Moon Rising”. ‘The Losing Hand’ is a forceful, rocking song that is driven along by Palmer’s powerful Telecaster sound. Over the bluesy guitar, Palmer delivers an excellent vocal performance; her distinctive voice has an edge of weariness and grit that makes her songs so compelling. It’s typically melodic from Palmer, but really soars as the song develops before Mike Butler’s fine guitar solo.

Palmer explains the approach to this song: “We went for a more unfiltered, grittier sound when making this track… It’s driven by a defiant sound, a sense of fighting back. I played with alt-country textures, meeting elements of punk. Mike has a deep love for raw country music, his knowledge is rich, and his vision is next to none. Mike’s guitar playing on this track is outstanding—he explores textures that elevate the entire sound, bringing depth and grit. I’ve never worked with anyone who instinctively understands the direction I want to take a song like Mike does.”

Palmer has been recording, once again, at the Half Moon Studios high in the San Diego hills with producer and musician Mike Butler (The White Buffalo). ‘The Losing Hand’ is the first song to be released from those sessions and gives a great taste of what’s to come.

Palmer is known for blending sounds and influences from the UK and the USA, having spent her life travelling between her home in an old watermill in an isolated village in the North Yorkshire Moors and visiting family in Phoenix, Arizona. With her bluesy guitar and distinctive voice, Palmer is known as a strong live performer and she has toured in the UK with the likes of with the likes of KT Tunstall, Patty Griffin, Courtney Marie Andrews and The Delines. There are a few dates left on Palmer’s current UK tour, including appearances at The Green Note and The Betsey Trotwood in London.