Desert Queen by Pearl Charles

I've been having an absolute blast with Pearl Charles for the last couple of weeks. The midpoint in our short relationship was at Hackney's Moth Club on the night when Beyoncé kicked off her London residency. The best people were at the Moth that night. After Pearl sent over her Q&A answers I decided to bite the bullet and give every track a bloody good listening to. I even watched interviews and her music videos on YouTube. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.

Pearl Charles at London Moth Club

It is well known in our house that I only followed Pearl Charles on Instagram because she reminded me of Paul Charles, my own name at home until the age of around 8 and the first pen name I used for novel No. 1. This is irrelevant to anyone but me. As soon as I heard the music of Pearl Charles, I knew I was dealing with quality. As with the best America…

Tennessee VibesPaul Dettmann

Does This Song Sound Familiar (12")

A strong start. I love chuggy driving tunes and this is one of those. There is no intro. It just feels like the desert, Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway. Music blows like the desert. Wind into my soul. A gentle breeze pulls you under. Makes you feel like you're home. Oh this is good. Have you heard it once before? No you have not, not like this. She's addressing the listener directly.

All of these songs are more abstract than most of the music I have been listening to this spring. Those narrative Country music stories are very literal, leaving little open to interpretation. Pearl Charles does not write like that very often. She is more like Stevie Nicks. You're not supposed to know exactly what she means. You have to fill in gaps, which means it is harder for me to tell you exactly what is on her mind. I love that! The video is Pearl's favourite shoot of this album. It is just as abstract as the lyrics.