Difficult Second Album Syndrome has plagued the music industry for decades. But Nova Twins, never ones to follow the rulebook, swerved the curse completely. Their aptly named second record, ‘Supernova’, launched them from exciting underground talent to world-class, genre-bending, fire-breathing rock stars.
But while the second album might make the headlines, there’s a growing feeling that it’s the third one that really matters – the album that proves longevity, growth and the ability to survive the relentless cycle of tour, write, sleep, repeat. And when you’ve got an army of fans (including Tom Morello and Elton John, by the way) breathing down your neck for new music, the pressure only ramps up.
Thankfully, Nova Twins are thriving under that weight. ‘Parasites & Butterflies’ is a blistering, boisterous barrage that cements them as one of the most innovative and confident names in the game.
Sharpening the arena-rock chaos of ‘Supernova’ into a nu-metal-noise-punk-rap-rock hybrid, the record explores the pressures of modern life, both universal and uniquely Nova, with tracks built from anxiety dreams, battle cries and everything in between. It’s the sound of two women hardened by life on the road and fully evolved into their final form.
Releasing the first single ‘Monsters’ all the way back in January, the Essex duo gave fans an early taste of what was to come. A soaring chorus crashes headfirst into heavy distortion, throbbing bass and thunderous drums – a sonic portrait of the mental pressure they were putting on themselves during this brilliant yet breaking new chapter.
“‘Monsters’ represented where we were at that time,” bassist Georgia South explains. “It represented chaos and beauty in a really honest way, which is really the central concept of the record – it’s about the duality of finding the beauty in life even on the days when it seems like it’s impossible to.”
The album was born out of chaos – specifically, the hectic aftermath of a world tour. After selling out shows across the globe and opening for some of the biggest names in music, they returned home to regroup. It was a welcome reset, but one that came with its own hurdles.
“It was very new,” vocalist/guitarist Amy Love remembers. “We toured so extensively that we basically didn’t sleep and didn’t take very good care of our mental health – we were pretty all over the place!”
“Suddenly, we were back home, and we were told, ‘OK, it’s time for a new album, here’s a deadline’. We wanted to give our fans an album and a tour, but we were trying to write in the depths of winter alone in our bedrooms, so it became really isolating – I know that Georgia had a really bad time.”
Georgia nods. “I think at first we were feeling the pressure. There’s always going to be expectation and outside voices, but we’re quite good at shutting that out and focusing on making something we love. But we put so much pressure on ourselves that actually it was my mind that became my biggest demon.”
“Eventually, we got into the swing of it, though,” Amy continues. “By the end, it all flowed, and we ended up with something that we’re really proud of.”
“We were trying to write this album in the depths of winter alone in our bedrooms”
Nova Twins have never been afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves, and that honesty remains front and centre. Tracks like ‘Piranha’ hum with tension and expectation, while ‘Parallel Universe’ explores the disconnection of a society glued to DMs and dating apps. ‘N.O.V.A’ is a call to arms for self-belief, while ‘Drip’ feels like it’s delivered with a sly grin – the sound of a band comfortably claiming their space in the spotlight.
There’s no grand plan – just raw emotion. “The album was definitely very healing for us,” Georgia says. “It’s very honest. Whatever we wrote that day was rooted in where we were at that moment. We didn’t pre-plan it. If we needed a pick-me-up, we wrote ‘N.O.V.A’ or ‘Soprano’. We didn’t force anything.”
Sonically, things were equally fluid, though this time they wrote with the live show in mind. Having conquered massive rooms filled with crowds ready to mosh at the drop of a bassline, they channelled that energy into an album that builds up, breaks down, and refuses to stay in one genre for more than a moment.
“Now we know how things sound through a fat PA or massive stage speakers, or how the crowd will feel when it breaks down and kicks off,” Georgia grins. “It’s inspired by big moments in big arenas, so we definitely added more of that in!”
That mindset was reignited in Vermont, during a marathon recording session that included opening for Foo Fighters. “That was our first gig in six months, which for us is ages!” Amy laughs. “It gave us the energy, the electricity that we needed when we were back in the studio.”
That same electricity is all over ‘Parasites & Butterflies’. And while the soundscape is dense and glitchy, it’s far from safe.
“Yeah, it was quite difficult to mix!” Amy admits. “We have such a clear vision of what we want from our demos, because we always put in loads of layers and intricate things, so we have a really full sound – we can’t just rely on a massive speaker to kick you in the face like we do on stage! We kept getting texts from our producer like, ‘fucking hell, why is there 15 drum stems on this?’ or ‘fuck me guys, this is crazy!’”
They might be working with heavyweight producers like Richard Costley now, but the heart of Nova Twins remains unchanged. From their first release as BRAATS back in 2014 to the behemoth they are today, the band still runs on the same fuel: the fierce bond between Amy and Georgia.
“We’re very lucky that we’re a duo,” Georgia says. “We balance each other out, which is the foundation we can build from. It makes us feel really empowered that it’s just us two. It keeps us inspired, and hopefully it can inspire other women and girls to write music, get on stages, to produce albums.”
Their place at the top of the nu-metal ladder isn’t just a personal win – it signals a bigger shift. Gone are the tired old tropes. In their place, new voices, new perspectives, and a scene more diverse than ever. Just ask anyone who saw their recent set at Vans Warped Tour.
“That was great,” Amy recalls. “We played quite early, I think it was lunchtime, but we still had such an amazing crowd that were really up for it. American crowds always seem to have that spark. They just get it. I think they’re used to those showbiz-heavy bands, so we feel really at home in that scene.”
“It was great to see so much diversity in the line-up and in the crowd,” Georgia adds. “It’s amazing how far it’s come even since we first started. We would turn up to festivals and we’d be the only Black people there – sometimes we’d be the only women there – so it’s definitely encouraging to see that progression.”
“It’s not traditional male, pale and stale rock, but we’re also not straight-up R&B or hip-hop”
When we speak, the band are crammed into their tour van en route to Boomtown Fair – a far cry from the rock and metal fests where they cut their teeth. It’s yet another example of Nova Twins refusing to be boxed in.
“We’ve always mixed so many genres; Nova Twins is basically a mash-up of all of our influences,” Amy says. “So it took us ages to find a home because people were desperate to pigeonhole us.”
“It’s not traditional male, pale, and stale rock, but we’re also not straight-up R\&B or hip-hop. We’ve always wanted to play every show that we can – pop festivals, rock festivals, hip-hop festivals – and now we’re finally getting to do that.”
“It’s not like people at pop festivals don’t get it. They enjoy it, they understand what we’re doing and what we’re trying to say. Audiences are more inspired by artists who’ve honed their craft and have a different viewpoint from the gatekeepers who keep spitting out the next cookie-cutter, soulless act who are sent out just to make money and recreate the same sound that got Sabrina Carpenter, or whoever, a Number 1 single.”
It’s a week after Ozzy Osbourne’s funeral – a fitting time to reflect on how the best music often comes from working-class kids with the guts to scrap their way to the top.
“You can’t have those massive shows without grassroots venues, without the people working mixing desks or sorting lights in tiny rooms,” Amy points out. “It’s an ecosystem and small shows are the foundation of the industry. You have to feed it all instead of funnelling all of the money into one or two popstars.” Georgia nods: “You have to protect the grassroots, or God knows where we’ll be. It’ll all be AI shit.” She audibly baulks at the idea of Nova Twins: Voyage – so no holograms just yet.
Instead, their future is very much flesh and blood. A run of UK and European shows is about to put them back where they belong: in front of a crowd.
“It drives us crazy not gigging – maybe that’s unhealthy, but fuck it! We love it!” Amy grins.
At that moment, their van reverses into something, which seems like the perfect time to wrap things up. So what’s keeping Nova Twins moving forward?
“We’re learning as we go. We know ourselves a lot more than we did on the second album, so I’m excited to go through this process in a healthy way,” Georgia says. “I also can’t wait for people to hear the songs and attribute their own meaning to them – they’re as much theirs as they are ours.”
Amy agrees. “I hope people feel inspired by the world we’ve created, that they see themselves in us and that they realise women are allowed to rock out! The real world feels so chaotic and uncertain that we need music that brings us together. Our shows are going to be that place – where people can be silly, mosh, make friends, and not worry about anything else. This whole thing is so much bigger than the two of us.”
Spreading their wings and taking to the skies, Nova Twins are proving there’s no stage too big, no idea too wild, and no ceiling they can’t smash through. Queens of the Scene? You’d better believe it.
Taken from the September 2025 issue of Dork. Nova Twins’ album ‘Parasites & Butterflies’ is out 29th August.
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