Nova Twins’ debut album ‘Who Are The Girls?’ was a spiky, abrasive statement of intent from a band who demanded to be heard. Inspired by the no-nonsense attack of Rage Against The Machine and The Prodigy, the 10 tracks quickly saw Nova Twins as one of the most ferocious and important bands in Britain. Massive tours with fellow scene-shakers Yungblud and Bring Me The Horizon soon followed – and the London duo’s second album is understandably far more ambitious.
More dynamic, more experimental and with far more range than what’s come before, ‘Supernova’ is a bigger album in every way. Their debut may have dabbled with nu-metal and grime but its follow-up pulls from all over. When the hectic intro track ‘Power’ crashed in, it’s clear nothing is off-limits. Fear not, though: Nova Twins are still heavy as fuck.
‘Antagonist’ is a scrappy brawler, all thundering drums and squealing guitar riffs, and features an outrageously poppy chorus while the hammering ‘Enemy’ is an urgent, hulking song that sounds like pure, untethered rage. Elsewhere the rave-rock of ‘Choose Your Fighter’ is the sort of explosive track that’ll inspire mosh pits all over the land.
As delicious as they are, there’s more to Nova Twins than vicious rock breakdowns. ‘Cleopatra’ is a swaggering blend of electro-punk and self-empowerment. Written in the wake of the BLM movement, it’s about “celebrating us as black women and coming back stronger,” lead vocalist and guitarist Amy Love has explained in a statement. “This is our power and we’re proud of where we’re from. We want other people to feel like that too.” That confidence can be found across ‘Supernova’, from the playful, party-starting ‘Fire & Ice’ to the glitching ‘Puzzles’, a conversation-switching anthem of lust, power and control.
Nova Twins have never been one for rules and on ‘Supernova’, they really begin to toy with what’s expected of them. The haunting ‘A Dark Place For Somewhere Beautiful’ is a painful, pretty song that’s more about brooding vibes than a chaotic audience while the electro-emo ‘Toolbox’ flickers between Nine Inch Nail’s industrial rampage and Halsey’s passionate alt-pop. Then there’s ‘Sleep Paralysis’, the nightmarish closing track to ‘Supernova’; it’s full of theatrical fantasy and opens the band up to multiple new directions.
Rightly championed as a vital new voice in the world of rock, Nova Twins haven’t let any of that pressure get in the way of creating a flamboyant, fantastic second album that’s as playful as it is powerful. Last year, Rage’s Tom Morello told NME that Nova Twins were an “incredible band who deserve to be huge”. Six months later and the duo sound ‘Supernova’. The world is theirs for the taking.
