Pearl Charles: Magic Mirror (CD on Karine Records )

Band: Pearl Charles
Label: Karine Records
Title: Magic Mirror

Review (1)	Release Details	Add Release	Releases (1)	Articles (0)
Cover Art (1)	Versions (0)	Edit Release	Releases List (1)	Reviews (1)
Pictures (0)			Summary (0)	Related (0)
			Jukebox (1)	List All (1)

Band:Pearl Charles
Title:Magic Mirror
Reviewed By:Nick Dent-Robinson
Date Published:14/02/2021

Label:Karine Records
Format:CD
Release Year:Label
Lookup:

A rising star to watch is Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Pearl Charles, whose second album, ‘Magic Mirror’ is a feelgood meander through various classic American styles from country-soul to 1960s pop and 1970s rock. It's a record to help banish the Covid blues!

Charles, 29, isn't a complete newcomer, though. The former classical music student first cut her teeth with LA country duo The Driftwood Singers before drumming with garage-rock band The Blank Tapes. She went solo in 2012 and has since toured extensively in the USA with Father John Misty and Best Coast, anchoring her music firmly in American indie rock.

‘Magic Mirror’ is more mainstream and shifts the dial away from indie underground towards smoother and more commercial West Coast sounds.

Opening track ‘Only for Tonight’ is a little misleading as, like Arcade Fire's ‘Everything Now’. it is an homage to Abba and might suggest an album of glittery disco sounds. But what follows is far softer, more introspective and interesting.

For in ‘Magic Mirror’ Charles charts her own progress through adolescence and on to adulthood, questioning her own artistic credentials in ‘Imposter’ and tackling the fear and challenge of moving on from an old failed relationship in ‘What I Need’.
The title track, an Elton John-influenced piano ballad, finds Charles wondering if she's becoming too self-absorbed. - Though as a typical Californian singer-songwriter, a degree of soul-searching comes with the job description!

One of the most attractive tracks on ‘Magic Mirror’ is ‘Sweet Sunshine Wine’ which is spiced with harpsichord and honky-tonk piano and tells of a carefree summer romance. The album's last track, however, brings things back down to earth. ‘As Long As You're Mine’ is a ballad inspired by Bonnie Raitt and contains the words, “We're closer to the edge than we've ever been” and “Summer fun feels a long way away right now - But we can still dream” - which is a reflective rather than a fairytale ending.

Track Listing:

01) Only for Tonight
02) What I Need
03) Imposter
04) Don't Feel Like Myself
05) Magic Mirror
06) Slipping Away
07) All the Way
08) Take Your Time
09) Sweet Sunshine Wine
10) As Long As You're Mine

First Previous Next Last

Commenting On: Magic Mirror by Pearl Charles

Header

Comment:

Your Name

Your Location ie London, England

tick box before submitting comment

First Previous Next Last

Related Bands (edit)

Related Labels
Karine Records

Review Header

Eclectic second album from rising Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Pearl Charles

Articles A-Z
View All				A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K
L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z

Magic Mirror - CD
Eclectic second album from rising Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Pearl Charles

First Previous Next

Reviews A-Z
View All				A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K
L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z