Charlotte Martin: introducing an impressive newcomer and her unforgettable display of emotions

Interview, August, 2003 by Jarret McNeill

"I'm a partial goth," claims Charlotte Martin, but the description doesn't quite ring true. Sans makeup or pretense, this 26-year-old singer-songwriter doesn't look the part, but does have the right influences-brooding bands like Joy Division and the Cure. Her own songs, piano rock ballads that echo Tori Amos and Kate Bush, also come from dark places: Three years ago, the opera-trained former Miss Teen Illinois became a virtual shut-in after following a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend to Los Angeles from her tiny hometown of Charleston, Illinois. "L.A. really scared me," says Martin. "I ended up writing songs in my apartment and not really meeting anyone. I was lonely and depressed."

The isolation paid off. Soon after she booked her first gig, Martin's emotional snapshots of fear, doubt, and anxiety scored her a record deal, and a devoted following. She recently played on Pete Yorn's latest album, Day! Forgot (Columbia), and released her debut EP, In Parentheses (RCA). "The title track is about a person who doesn't get acknowledged for who they are," she explains, "like the kid in school who's really amazing but not everyone knows it yet." The same could be said about Martin.

Jarret McNeill is an Editorial Assistant at Interview.