In most cases, when a new artist comes along, you have absolutely no preconceptions of what the music is going to sound like. Sure, you maybe read about the artist on some blog or you saw their release (s) in the local record store bin, but in most situations, that doesn’t really help in describing the artist’s sound. So, when you lay the needle down or press play on your CD player, your expectations are completely blank until the music starts. In many cases, you’ll listen, shrug, and file it away for another day. However, if you’re lucky, you’ll be instantly transported to Planet Awesome as the album unfolds. In the case of Pearl Charles’ 2021 release, MAGIC MIRROR, you’re going to feel lucky. Very, very lucky.

Before her solo career, Pearl was a member of Country Music duo The Driftwood Singers and then the drummer in indie band The Blank Tapes. She made her solo debut with the self-titled release in 2015. Mixing ‘60s Pop with a touch of modern Americana, the album was both thrilling and haunting in equal measures. Regardless of genre, the songs were pure and honest, revealing an artist with a knack for writing songs well beyond her years. In 2018, she issued the album SLEEPLESS DREAMER, another stellar collection of great Pop songs masquerading as ‘60s influenced Americana. However, some of the chord changes and melodies revealed an understanding of what made all those great early ‘70s AM Pop and Soul radio hits work so well. For this singer/songwriter, it was pretty obvious that she was going to take flight on her next release…

And now, MAGIC MIRROR has arrived, and, as expected, it soars while also changing course and sailing into a different musical universe. This time, Charles leaves the ‘60s behind and starts exploring the ‘70s. The great thing about AM radio in the ‘70s was that it embraced everything from Pop and Country to Soul, which is exactly what MAGIC MIRROR does. Armed with a cache of great songs, this album pays homage to everything from ABBA (“Only For Tonight”) to gentle, pedal-steel guitar laced Country Pop (“Sweet Sunshine Wine”, “All The Way”) to touching ballads (“Don’t Feel Like Myself”, “Magic Mirror”). On one hand, MAGIC MIRROR can be seen as a departure from SLEEPLESS DREAMER, but it is, in fact, a continuation of the album’s deep and emotional connection between then and now. Charles is moving forward as an artist yet she is fully aware of Pop music’s history and how it inspired her, directly or indirectly. We all need more artists that show us their roots while taking the listener on a journey to the next destination, wherever that may be. Pearl Charles inspires us to trust her musical instincts. And we do…