Nova Twins aren't just the future of rock, they're the present too - and with their new album 'Supernova', they're here to prove it.

Words: Jasleen Dhindsa. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.

If you have any consciousness regarding the current climate of rock, then you'll already be more than aware of Nova Twins.

As childhood friends, Amy Love and Georgia South have spent close to a decade building their name in the UK rock and punk scene. In 2020, they released their kinetic, supercharged debut album 'Who Are The Girls?' - an in your face declaration that has forged a much-needed path. With no synths in sight and an adoration for guitar pedals, its incomparable composite of nu-metal meets electronic-tinged hardcore was both built in and made for the live environment. And then a global pandemic struck.

Nova Twins persevered, and despite not being able to feel the tangible fruits of their labour, they still managed to solidify their status as one of the most exciting, expectation-defying and pioneering bands around. They collaborated and toured with Bring Me The Horizon, picked up the accolade of Best Breakthrough Band at the Heavy Music Awards, and even gained a fan in Rage Against The Machine icon Tom Morello.

At the time of writing, the duo are on tour with another rock zeitgeist, YUNGBLUD, Nova's first proper tour of Europe, having only toured France a few months prior.

"This year's been a great journey for us. We've never been able to tour this much," Georgia explains. "It's been great to finally see our audience in person and actually see what our audience looks like. It's been really good fun."

The band are currently promoting the ferocious follow-up to their debut, 'Supernova' - an empowering goliath that sees Nova Twins elevated and open to a stratospheric future.

"At first, we were worried and panicked like a lot of bands, but we persevered and carried on," Amy says, reflecting on what it was like to promote their first album during the pandemic. "You have to adapt in this industry anyway. We made the most of it and got to know our audience. We set them little challenges, we've done art together and made clothes together, riff challenges… it really helped the time go by, and of course, we got stuck into the album."

Amy continues, "We just had to do something. The first song [was written] around Black Lives Matter, and a lot was going on with the marches. We did a few protests and made a couple of speeches at one of them. We had so much to say and had a lot of feelings as well."

The duo used writing 'Supernova' to process not just the world but also their own personal lives and journeys, a therapeutic exercise that provided a space to explore and expand. The abundance of time in lockdown meant the process wasn't rushed either, as Georgia explains. "The first album was very much, this is who we are in terms of playing everything raw, how you'd hear us at a festival. 'Supernova' feels more intimate because we did write in our bedrooms in a very small space. We had that time to play around with sounds, buy more pedals, and just really think about dynamics and not be afraid."

Now two albums deep, the aptly titled 'Supernova' will surely see Nova Twins climb to even higher successes. Yet the journey up the ladder doesn't seem to phase them at all, as their DIY community ethos is still at the core of who they are. They've even continued with their various sociopolitically focused projects, including Voices For The Unheard, platforming alternative POC talent - created online, it now exists in real life as they bring the artists involved out on tour with them. It's even led to one artist signing with Nova's own publisher.

"For every band, no matter what position you're in, there will always be obstacles. You're always going to look for the next thing," Amy says of her band's trajectory. "I think because we've been a band for such a long time, we knew we had obstacles just for being who we are: women, women of colour, making rock music. The first time, it was definitely trickier, and now it's nice to see the industry opening up more, opening up the conversation more, being a little bit more versatile in what can be what."

"We're appreciative of everything because we've been going for a long time. We always had our mind set on being like, it doesn't really matter [what happens], we're always gonna go forward anyway. We made that decision, whether we're huge, whether we're going to be small - anything that comes now feels like a bonus." ■

Taken from the July 2022 edition of Dork, out now. Nova Twins' album 'Supernova' is out 17th June. Read the full interview in the July issue of Upset, out now. Order a copy at upsetmagazine.com.