I got to see Pony Boy once at the Troubadour, and she left the strongest impression of the night on me. I remember Pony Boy as a very pretty blonde perched on red high heels, wearing a sunshine dress, and singing dark, menacing songs with a twangling guitar. This new one is no exception, ‘Happy Ever After’ is one of these murder ballads (and the Nick Cave reference is not innocent), bluesy and thunderous, starting with a lugubrious-gravelling organ and pounding drums which seem to announce war or any kind of big trouble. This is a woman no one should mess up with or she may do a killing with the only help of her sultry voice which sounds like an aggressive version of Chan Marshall’s. The song never really reaches some bombastic level, it’s all about restrained passion and a powerful-sexy anger she holds on leash.
Her real name is Marchelle Bradanini, and since her move to Nashville she mixes the darkest places of Americana with her own brand of pop and blues. After releasing a series of singles, she is now ready for her first EP ‘The Devil In Me’, out on March 4th, which, according to the press release, ‘represents a unique twist on old-school storytelling in Marchelle’s simmering voice accented by the sounds of vintage instrumentation’. Marchelle describes her music as ‘junkyard country’ and her tunes as ‘the simple songs about those feelings of longing for someone you can’t hold onto or seem to let go of against one’s better judgment’. One of her songs will probably end up on the soundtrack of some cool TV hip series, but wait, it’s already the case… her desolated smoky song ‘Trouble’ was featured on the ABC drama Nashville’. Keep her in your radar next time she tours.
Here is the tracklist of ‘The Devil In Me’
Happy Ever After
One Man Show
The Wanderer
Easy Money