Pearl Charles – “Step Too Far”

It’s been no secret around here that Pearl Charles has been an RSTB favorite. Charles has been steadily building towards a new album for the past few years, slipping out singles in the wake of 2021’s Magic Mirror. The songwriter’s work has always hovered in the smoke-ringed ether between country’s Canyon days and the groundswell of grandeur that would trace the arc out of the ‘70s. Somewhere caught in the glare of lights off of the disco ball and pressed into the lipstick marks on the filter lives “Step Too Far.” It’s a song that finds its protagonist finally pushed over the edge, crumbling on the inside but keeping enough composure to make it out of the hot lights and into the dark corners.

Swept along by sultry sax and the velveteen drape of flute and piano, the track numbers among her best. Long lingering in the arms of Rondstadt, Pearl turns this time to the grand gestures of Dusty In Memphis, capturing the album’s measured hand that keeps it both grounded and grandiose. The new single sits alongside a few other familiar cuts (“Givin’ It Up,” “Smoke In The Limousine,” “Does This Song Sound Familiar?” on Pearl’s new album, Desert Queen, out in April on her own Taurus Rising imprint and in the UK on Last Night From Glasgow.