The vast landscapes of Joshua Tree, California have long been a haven for musicians throughout the years. From Jim Morrison to Gram Parsons, inspiration saturated the desert air, guiding them as they crafted some of their most notable compositions. For country songstress Pearl Charles, Joshua Tree and all its free-flowing magic served as the driving force behind her latest album Desert Queen.
Originally hailing from Los Angeles, Charles toes the line between the realm of disco and cosmic country, adding a flare of soft rock to concoct a genre all her own. While some of her biggest inspirations stem from the 1960s and ‘70s country-rock scene, her third full-length album sounds like something ripped straight from a velvet-drenched, psychedelic daydream. Piece by piece, Desert Queen came together through close collaboration with her longtime partner Michael Rault, their retro-inspired home serving not just as a studio, but as a creative sanctuary where the album’s dreamy textures and kaleidoscopic sounds could fully bloom.
“This place just sort of came to us and it was very cosmic in that way,” Charles explains. “I think Joshua Tree is just a cosmic place. It’s known for Gram Parsons and so many of the artists that I love from the ‘70s, from Los Angeles, from Laurel Canyon – that whole scene. They went out there to go seek that inspiration, get in touch with their spirituality. There is something that’s very hard to quantify. I don’t even know if you could really put it into words because it’s not tangible. It’s just a feeling of when you’re there that is very peaceful, very focused.”
The album kicks off with a track that begs the question, ‘Does This Song Sound Familiar?’ Hazy guitars and mellow grooves drift in like a mirage, setting the tone that eases you into Charles’ world.
“I just went and sat outside, and the wind blew past me, and I came up with the opening line: ‘Music blows like the desert wind into my soul.’ It allows you to open up the channel for the inspiration,” she says. For Charles, songwriting is akin to the act of woodworking – a process of patiently chiseling away until the final form emerges with purpose and precision. The spellbinding track ‘Birthday’ is a testament to this meticulous method, crafted after a period of refining melodies, lyrics, and arrangement to uncover its emotional core. Yet, as Charles notes, “sometimes necessity is the best form of invention.” That urgency is evident in other tracks on Desert Queen, like the funk-tinged ‘City Lights’, which came together in a single night and was recorded in the studio the very next day.
Compared to previous releases, Desert Queen expands on familiar themes with a vintage atmosphere that seeks to capture a feeling. The resonant sound that weaves itself throughout the record is due to the way in which the band approached the recording process itself. Rather than relying on a digital process that can often be disposable, they leaned into a more tactile, lived-in method of recording to tape that demanded presence in the studio.
“It just made it feel very palpable how you had to get it,” Charles explains. “We took a couple takes; we didn’t just pick the first one we did. We focused so much more on the live sound. I think recording to tape obviously is going to bring out some of that ‘70s vibe that we love so much. I’m not sure if that’s something that can be perceived by the listener, but it was more of a feeling than an actual sonic thing.”
While Charles found her footing playing music inspired by the Carter Family and classic country duets, the journey to Desert Queen has been one that finds her stepping into genre-bending territory. Upon discovering the “artist-forward” world of the ‘70s outlaw scene, when musicians claimed greater creative control, the longing nostalgia that permeates her curated aesthetic underscores how tightly interwoven her love for the past is with her drive to create something entirely new.
“I knew I wanted to do disco, and I knew I wanted to do country, so I kind of put it together and I felt like I created its own thing,” she says. “I’m always trying to make sure that I’m really putting my most authentic self into the songs and not just trying to recreate something that’s already happened.”
The album’s reflective, yet vibrant energy also carries a quiet homage. In 2022, while enroute to the studio, the band learned about the passing of Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie. It was a shock that deeply affected Charles, who considers the English keyboardist as her favorite member.
“I’ve always deeply connected with her songwriting,” Charles explains. “I was already thinking that I really wanted to channel this energy into this album but then knowing that she had died that day – I really think everybody really took on that feeling of ‘how can we try to bring her essence into this album?’ She’s a huge influence and I’d definitely say this album is dedicated to her.” The reflective warmth and collaborative spirit of Desert Queen echo this dedication, translating that admiration into songs that feel both intimate and expansive.
Seeking out to bridge eras while carving out her own lane, Charles canonically lives up to her goal of “reframing retro fetishism as a futurist vision.” She channels the spirit of the past not as an imitation, but as a vessel for reinvention. What grounds Desert Queen is a devotion to honesty and connection — the belief that music is at its best when it speaks to something universal.
“Ultimately, I think that’s what music really is about: feeling a connection and feeling like there’s other people who understand you,” she says.
With Desert Queen, Pearl Charles extends that invitation, offering listeners not just a sound, but a shared feeling — one that lingers like the desert air long after the music fades.
“I think in sharing your own authentic experience, you can really connect with people,” Charles explains. “I hope that it makes people feel like there’s a community out there for them and this can be part of it in a way.”
