Nova Twins’ 2022 album Supernova received Brit nominations and the first ever Mercury prize shortlisting for a Black rock band, and earned singer/guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South fans in Rage Against the Machine and Elton John. Their third album packs more of the trademark hybrid of rock, metal, punk and hip-hop that elbowed them to the front of a still male-dominated genre, but pushes at their boundaries and tiptoes towards pop.
Working with Foo Fighters/Charli xcx producer Rich Costey and a supporting cast including former Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin and (via their first use of sampling) Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat, the sound is bigger and more blatantly anthemic. Soprano playfully flirts with sugary harmonies and semi-operatic pop. Hummingbird – a kaleidoscopic collage of multi-layered vocals, unusual guitar processing and inventive percussion – sums up their spirit of adventure: “Spread your wings.”
Lyrically, there’s more openness and introspection. Parallel Universe allows a glimpse of the toll on mental health of years in the business: “You loathe all the things you hide within yourself,” Love sings. The particularly anthemic Monsters still packs the attitude that saw off the naysayers who think this kind of music should not be made by young Black women, but adds vulnerability: “I’m not afraid of monsters, but I’m afraid of myself.” Elsewhere, tracks such as Piranha still ramp up the brutally catchy riffola and big grooves. Longstanding fans can be assured that the Twins rock as hard as ever, just in a different way.
