In “When Tomorrow Comes,” the opening track of her debut full length album, Blue Gold, Pony Boy croons her desire, “to live a life that is not wasted.” Singing across the genres from opera to punk to exploring careers in politics and poetry, the twists and turns of Marchelle Bradanini’s life seem to have been far from a waste, coming together in a beautiful confluence, Pony Boy blends country, blues and rock with contemplative, moving lyrics.

Bradanini’s stage name, taken from the character in The Outsider, hints at the mythical Americana essence of her work, from her sound to her look: red lips and platinum blonde locks. Yet her works visit America from an arms-length, as she’s lived in both England and Australia with her husband.

Even in the video for “When Tomorrow Comes,” renowned fine art photographer Joaquin Trujillo and his partner Brian Paumier took to the edges of Trujillo’s hometown Zacatecas, Mexico to co-direct an eerie, Lynchian descent into Bradanini’s psyche. About the track, she muses, “It’s about the disconnect between the life we aspire to, contrasted to the stark and often difficult realities of the present. That lingering duality of hope mixed with self-doubt. And the societal pressure to just put a superficial bandage on the wounds of anxiety and inadequacies to pretend everything is alright ‘come here we’ll fix you up, like a broken coffee cup.’”

Raw, gritty production adds to the surreal quality of the video, a heavy, synth soundscape permeated by Pony Boy’s deep, sultry vocals. All the while Bradanini wanders confidently through the foreign territory, replete with religious iconography, absorbing her surroundings yet always standing out.

Watch the video for “When Tomorrow Comes” below, and pick up a copy of Blue Gold, which was released on August 28^th on Cosmic Thug Records.