''Magic Mirror'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer-songwriter Pearl Charles. It was released on January 15, 2021, through

Kanine Records Kanine Records is an independent record label based in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York started at the end of 2002 by Lio and Kay Kanine. Their first release, ''NY: The Next Wave'', was a 20 track compilation featuring mostly unsigne ...

Release

Pearl Charles announced the release of her second studio album on September 15, 2020.

Singles

On September 15, 2020, Pearl Charles released the first single from the album, "What I Need". In a press release of the single, Charles explained: "Have you ever stuck with something long after it was time to let go? "What I Need" explores this choice in terms of a breakup, though it could really be applied to any situation that is no longer serving you. It's the age-old story of wanting to stay in a comfortable relationship but knowing that you have to move on for personal growth, and the fear and uncertainty that being alone will bring, even though it's for the best." The second single "Take Your Time" was released on October 13, 2020.

Critical reception

''Magic Mirror'' was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 78 based on 7 reviews. At

AnyDecentMusic? AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...

, the release was given a 7.6 out of 10 based on 10 reviews. Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Timothy Monger stated: "Pearl Charles strikes a confident, if laid-back tone on Magic Mirror, her sophomore album. The production and arrangements throughout are impeccable, warm, and well-suited to the kind of thoughtful, low-key songwriting at which Charles excels. Magic Mirror is the kind of subtle record that reveals its pleasures through repeated listens. Even Charles' voice is a comfort." At '' Beats Per Minute'', Ana Leorne wrote: "The album embodies liberation in the profoundest of ways, a pondered life-changing move that is definitely not the product of naive hot-headedness. Led by warm and sparkly singles "What I Need", "Imposter", and "Take Your Time", Magic Mirror is deliciously referential whilst refusing to remain stuck in a particular time and space that only exists in selective memory. Jordan Currie at ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' rated the release an 8 out of 10, writing "The singer-songwriter's second LP is a blissful journey of cosmic country, disco and poppy psych rock that dances its way into the new year. Magic Mirror is a young woman's trip through a whirlwind of self-reflection and self-discovery." At

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, Roisin O'Connor said: "Influenced heavily by the sun-drenched sounds of Sixties and Seventies California, Magic Mirror incorporates bright, cosmic synths and classic rock motifs, along with brilliant, subtle flexes of country slide guitar. While Charles frequently plays with themes of self-doubt and setbacks, the buoyant instrumentation provides a freewheeling sense of optimism." John Amen, writing for ''Cultural Daily'', gave the album a score of 7.9/10, concluding: "The winning elements of Magic Mirror are Pearl Charles’s supple voice and her knack for reimagining the classic templates of 60’s and 70’s singer-songwriters. Charles blends resourcefulness and a contemporary flair, displaying what might be dubbed an historically informed originality."

Release

Singles

Critical reception

Track listing

References

External links