Interview In The Studio: Nova Twins

“Though it may have taken Nova Twins four years to graduate from their debut self-titled EP through to finally unleashing their first full-length, “Who Are The Girls?’, back in 2020, the duo aren’t planning on wasting any time on its follow-up. Having already whipped up a frenzy off the back of that debut - from calling for the MOBO Awards to introduce an “alternative’ category, to bagging spots on huge tours alongside the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Enter Shikari - the pair are already hurtling headfirst towards the release of the aptly-titled “Supernova’.

“So much was happening, it felt like chaos,” begins vocalist and guitarist Amy Love, on where they found themselves after unveiling “Who Are The Girls?’. Released just a handful of weeks before lockdown was brought in across the world, the sudden halt would make a huge impact on their next steps. “The world shut down, everything changed as we knew it,” she continues, “and I think we just wrote what we were feeling, and wrote in the moment.”

Using lockdown as a catalyst to begin writing (“We were just like, “We’ve got all this time, why don’t we just start?’” confirms bassist Georgia South), it was only when the band completed the electrifying rally call of new track ‘Cleopatra’ that “Supernova’ really began to come to life. “That was when we had been watching Netflix, chilling, and then I dunno:” laughs Georgia.

Working separately, the pair would exchange ideas and riffs via Logic. “I sent the song to Amy, and when she sent back the lyrics I was literally in tears,” she continues. “It feels so empowering - I think it was at the time of the whole BLM movement as well - it was just such a powerful song.”

“It gave us hope, didn’t it?” Amy chips in. “After just doing nothing, and then suddenly you sent this idea, I was like, “That sounds amazing’ and we just got inspired. Sometimes, during the first lockdown, you just wouldn’t feel in the mood to write - we just didn’t wanna do anything! But then “Cleopatra’ gave us hope again; we were like, “Yes we can do this, let’s push ourselves’. We didn’t know when live music was gonna come back, and people were wondering if it even was going to, so it was just like, “Let’s keep going’, and it got us through, for sure.”

Cleopatra wasn’t the only famous female to give Nova Twins a bit of much-needed encouragement, however. Returning to the studio after writing most of the album apart, the pair found themselves almost finished, but exhausted, and with a 24-hour deadline to finish a key track. “Oh with “Choose Your Fighter’, it was so funny,” quips Amy. “I don’t know why we were so tired, but basically we were just lying on the sofa being like, “We need to keep going!’” Enter pop royalty’s most motivating hit: “We just kept playing Britney Spears’ “Work Bitch’ on our phones. We kept playing it and playing it, and every time we were slacking, we’d be like “Britney’s saying we gotta work bitch!’” “One of us would be like, “Oh I can’t go on’,” laughs Georgia, “and the other would be like, “:.You gotta work bitch!’”

Building upon the ferocious punk-fuelled hybrid of genres they explored on “Who Are The Girls?’, this time around, things feel amped up to another level entirely. “”Who Are The Girls?’ was us coming out and breaking onto the scene,” explains Amy. “But “Supernova’ is us saying: “This is who we are - there you go!’

“We always describe “Supernova’ as a journey,” she continues. “It’s not always pleasant, but sometimes it’s the best feeling ever - and what you can take from it is that it’ll prepare you for anything. We always wanna take back the power, and give that power to the people.”

From the scorching riffs of single “Antagonist’ - released late last year - through to the sassy playground chant of sex positive “Puzzles’, via the slinking shadows of “A Dark Place For Something Beautiful’, the album may delve into different moods and feelings, but the band were sure to emblazon it with a real sense of strength. “It’s very yin and yang,” confirms Amy, “but no matter where you’re at in life - whether at your lowest point or at the peak of the mountain - you’re gonna come through it. That’s why, even though there are darker elements to it, it’s still empowering.”

“Supernova’ is out 17th June via Marshall Records.