Technical death metal architects REVOCATION are pleased to present their video for Data Corpse. The track comes off the band’s acclaimed New Gods, New Masters full-length, released last year via Metal Blade Records. Comments vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson, “Data Corpse is about social media companies constantly scouring our personal lives for profit. We unwittingly give up […]
Reigning in hell, screaming like a storm, MIDNIGHT’s obscenely intense aural display of lust, filth, and sleaze ripped the Los Angeles faithful a new one at two sold-out shows on May 28-29, 2026. As part of MIDNIGHT‘s Satanic Royalty 15th Anniversary World Tour, the incendiary gigs at Hollywood venue Knucklehead were recorded in all their […]
C.O.F.F.I.N (Children Of Finland Fighting In Norway) unveil their sixth studio album, Out In Oslo, via p(doom) records and share a new video for the final single Gettin’ Down. The album arrives alongside their feature-length documentary, which is now available on YouTube. C.O.F.F.I.N return to stages across Australia in February and March 2027 for their […]
Padded Cell Productions and BMF Productions present Metal in the Mountains 2026. To be held at Beechworth Historic Precinct, 100 Ford Street, Beechworth, Victoria, from November 13 to 15, this dose of alternative, underground culture proudly stands behind the Historic Precinct buildings of Beechworth. Returning for a massive seventh year in the centre of Beechworth […]
The DATSUNS – one of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s most celebrated rock bands, the first band out of the Southern Hemisphere to make waves on the early 2000s rock explosion (they toured with the White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica and others) and arguably the only band of the era who have undeniably kept getting […]
TSIM are set to kick off their highly anticipated first national tour in 30 years next month, and while fans are still guessing which TSIM show they’ll get, at least the support acts are no mystery, with each state’s lineup now announced. Kicking off the tour on October 1 at Hobart’s Odeon Theatre will be […]
Faroese luminary singer-songwriter Eivør has unveiled a new track from her upcoming studio project, Tungl, due out on October 16. Today’s release Spøkilsir/Revenants weaves hypnotic dream-pop and trip-hop textures into an evocative meditation on embracing the ghosts of our past. Eivør conveys about the song: “In Spøkilsir/Revenants, we find relief in the imperfect. I think […]
Interview by Ali Williams NIGHTDIVE may be a relatively new band, but its members are hardly wandering into BIGSOUND armed with blind optimism and three rehearsals. Jack Robert and Mitch Clews have spent years working as session musicians, learning other people’s material, backing lead artists and making the whole operation sound considerably more competent. Now, […]
Interview by Ali Williams If organising an interstate show for your band meant first having to consult an aviation specialist, gather a road-condition report and possibly notify the Department of Defence, most would assume that you’re either stuck in a fever dream and or that definitely be some A grade ganga you’ve gotten your grubby […]A decade is a long time between albums, but Alyssa Bonagura has chosen the optimum moment to release America’s Backroads.
“It tells the story of the last ten years of my life,” explains the Nashville songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. “These are songs that I’ve played live or just never cut. When you write songs, sometimes they’re perfect for that moment. At other times they meet you years later and you’re like: ‘Oh my god, now that’s for me!’ That’s the magic of it.”
The richly autobiographical America’s Backroads, Bonagura’s fourth studio album, details a life spent criss-crossing the States, gathering experiences – good and bad – along the way. Predisposed to a sweeping chorus, she’s a classic Southern storyteller at heart, driven as much by rock’n’roll as by rootsy country.
“I listened to a lot of rock music growing up, a lot of electric guitar music,” she says. “I’ve always loved people like Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette. And all the women that kind of spearheaded that movement.”
Bonagura was destined for this kind of life. The daughter of Kathie Baillie and Michael Bonagura, founders of hit country trio Baillie & The Boys, she spent her childhood on the tour bus: “I think it’s because I was surrounded by music all the time. I wanted to be like my parents.” By 1998, aged 10, she was duetting with Kenny Rogers, and at 16 she was opening for Marty Stuart.
In 2006 she was granted an overseas scholarship to study sound technology at Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts.
“I was playing at the Zanzibar Club while I was there,” she recalls. “Pete Wylie turned up one night, saw me playing guitar and singing, and asked me to join his band. To be honest, I didn’t know who he was. But I joined The Mighty Wah! for the next two or three years. That whole experience changed everything. I came into my own as a songwriter.”
Bonagura channelled it all into her 2010 debut The English Diaries. She’s since had her songs covered by Steven Tyler, The Shires and a slew of contemporary country artists. But America’s Backroads is easily her finest statement yet.
“The title track led the way,” she says. “It’s about me, my mom and my dad playing in New Mexico, and growing up on the road. I also wrote it because I don’t want any of those memories to go away. They put miles on your soul.
“My parents really got burned by the industry,” she continues. “They were dropped when they had a number two record, which sounds crazy to me. It made me realise that the ebb and flow of the business will always be there, but that music still has to be the one priority in life. You have to love it enough to just keep going.”