Music
Interview
Nova Twins: “We can’t be superheroes all the time”
Nova Twins on stripping back their armour, embracing chaos and finding strength in honesty on their new album
Sometimes, the universe gives you a sign at exactly the right moment.
For Nova Twins – vocalist/guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South – that sign came in the form of a total solar eclipse on the very first day of recording their third album, Parasites & Butterflies.
After years of relentless highs, bruising lows, and a career trajectory that has seen them rise from the UK underground to global festival stages, the duo found themselves in Vermont with producer Rich Costey witnessing the natural phenomenon. Staring down a new chapter with more eyes on them than ever before, it felt like a reset, but also a stark reminder of how swift their ascension has been.
From Mercury Prize and BRIT Awards nods to sharing stages with rock icons Foo Fighters and Muse – even getting the thumbs up from Elton John himself – the last few years have been a whirlwind for Nova Twins. Accomplishing dreams they had never thought possible and giving the duo every reason to feel invincible, as they sat in the stillness of the New England woodland feeling proud of their achievements, it became impossible to ignore the inevitable signs of pressure and exhaustion.
Heading into Costey’s studio, the result is Parasites & Butterflies – a record that teeters between chaos and beauty, strength and vulnerability, power and fragility. A raw, unflinching reflection of who Love and South are in 2025, it’s a bold declaration from two women who have rewritten the rules of British rock, with their cracks and weaknesses on proud display.
As Nova Twins prepare to bring the album to UK stages this autumn, Love and South sat down with Ticketmaster UK to talk about finding clarity in chaos, the importance of vulnerability, and what the creation of Parasites & Butterflies has taught them.
Looking back on the time between Supernova and Parasites & Butterflies, a lot has happened. Did you feel like you needed a moment to decompress before fully launching into the next record, to take stock of things?
Amy Love: Yeah, for sure. When got back home after the Supernova era, we had to start writing the next record straight away. It felt like we were decompressing in real time while still working, which probably wasn’t the healthiest thing, but we moved, and we got it done. That’s the nature of this industry, but ultimately, it’s how we ended up with an album like this.
This was the first time you made a record knowing that people were eagerly watching and waiting. How did that shift your headspace compared to earlier records, where the pressure felt more internal than external?
Amy Love: When we first started writing, we definitely put the pressure on ourselves. We were thinking, we’ve got to make this album big. After a little while though, we decided to take that external pressure off. We’ve always just done what we’ve wanted to do. We’re part of the industry, but we’ve always felt slightly on the outside looking in. Just because the last album got a few things under its belt, that doesn’t mean we suddenly have to become different people. So, we let go of that external pressure and were just left with the pressures that we put on ourselves, which we had to work through.
There’s a real sense of disorientation and rawness in Parasites & Butterflies. Did making the album feel like pulling the curtain back on emotions you’d been too busy to fully sit with, a chance to let people see that clearly for the first time?
Georgia South: Definitely. It felt good to be vulnerable and honest, because at the end of the day we’re human and just trying to navigate life and emotions like everyone else. We can’t be superheroes all the time. Behind the mask and cape, there’s a human being. It felt like a necessity this time. At that point, it was all we could write about, because that was our reality. It just came out that way.
There’s a lot to be said for where you create a record too, and naturally the vibes of your location bleed into what you create. What did spending time in the isolation and nature of Vermont offer that you might not have found in a London studio?
Amy Love: It gave us distance and peace. When you’re at home, there’s always so much to catch up on, so you’re never really switching off. You’ll be away on tour, then come home and find that everything is falling apart. Being in Vermont, in this quiet little town with Rich [Costey], who was super calm and kind, was exactly what we needed. There was a studio dog, we stayed in little Airbnbs, and it was wholesome. We could just focus on the music. We needed to get away from ourselves and be in a totally new place. Then, halfway through, we went out and toured with Foo Fighters, which was the complete opposite type of energy but really fun. It was great to get back to the live show, because performing and playing shows is where are hearts truly are. Coming back from that gave us a new fire when we returned to writing.
A lot of that comes down to working with someone like Rich Costey too. How important was it to find a producer who got your vibe and could slot into your world rather than changing it?
Georgia South: That was exactly it. He respected our voices, opinions and vision for the record. He could’ve easily said, ‘I’m the big producer, this is how it should be’, but instead he was open and excited to hear our ideas. He just facilitated them and helped make them sound massive. He records things in such interesting, technical ways that we’d never think of too. He made the whole experience amazing.
A huge part of the magic of Nova Twins has always been your strength, that armour you’ve built with your music. These songs strip away a lot of that armour for the first time, but what’s beneath it is a new kind of strength. How important was it to show that vulnerability can be just as powerful as confidence?
Amy Love: That armour came because we had no choice. We were always up against hurdles and prejudices in the industry, and that forced us to toughen up. When we started, we weren’t those girls at all… We were full of wonder. That armour became part of who we are, and we’ll always have that, but carrying it gets heavy. People start treating you like you can take everything on because you’re ‘those girls.’ With this record, we wanted to ask, ‘Who are we underneath that armour?’ Everyone builds barriers – at work, in relationships, in life – but stripping them away is where real power lies. This is our honest truth, and no one feels strong all of the time. We wanted to show that we’re vulnerable too, and hopefully it allows others to feel like they can open up as well.
We have to talk about ‘Hummingbird’, because that song is such a beautiful tribute to the women in your lives. What was it like to tap into that space between gratitude and grief?
Amy Love: Grief is always tricky, and it’s a constant learning process. It never really goes away, but you learn to live with it in a healthier and more comfortable way. There comes a point where you accept it, and whilst you’re still grieving, you can say your goodbyes in a way. Loss is something we’ll all face at some point, and it felt important to write about it openly instead of feeling ashamed and hiding that part of our story.
You also sample Iranian artist Mahsa Vahdat on that track. How important is it to bring those nods to your heritage into your music when the moment feels right?
Amy Love: For us, it’s always about serving the song. If it feels right, we’ll do it. We’re not thinking, ‘Does this tick a box? Is it cool enough?’… We’re just honest. It’s about what makes sense for the song, not about trying to be cool for the sake of it.
Georgia South: She’s also an incredible Iranian artist, and it was important to have her voice on that song in particular.
On the flip side of the record, there are songs like ‘N.O.V.A’ that are pure power. That track already feels like such a moment in your live show. What drove you to create something like that?
Georgia South: Funnily enough, it started out as a skit Amy made, just meant to be an interlude. I thought that we should turn it into a full song, so I added the music, and we went from there. We wanted something fun that the audience could sing back with us. ‘Nova’ has always been our word, and to us it means this idea of feeling good and confident. We want to feel Nova, and when we create music, we always say, ‘Does this sound Nova?’ We wanted fans to take that word for themselves, to feel confident, unique, and free to express themselves.
Your sound has never stayed in one lane, and that’s what defines Nova Twins. What’s the thread that ties it all together?
Georgia South: We just love so many different kinds of music, and we’re always thinking about how we can bind those things together. Both of us are mixed-race women with different heritages, cultures and backgrounds. Amy’s half Iranian and half Nigerian but grew up in Essex, and I’m half Jamaican and half English but grew up in London. From the start we’ve been surrounded by different cultures, foods, and sounds. It just naturally comes out that way. We don’t sit down thinking, ‘Let’s pick this genre and that genre’, it just flows through us and becomes Nova Twins.
With the UK tour just around the corner, how are you planning to reflect the emotional rollercoaster of Parasites & Butterflies in the live show?
Amy Love: We’ve already been impatient and started adding new songs into festival sets. But for the headline shows, we’re going into production rehearsals soon to map out the whole experience. We want the explosions to really explode in your face, and the quiet moments to feel tender and beautiful. We want to create this world where the duality becomes this tangible idea. We’re also planning a thing where fans can come dressed as parasites or butterflies – however they interpret that – which feels perfect for October and Halloween vibes. For the day one fans, we’re considering some throwbacks to the first EP too. There’s this secret society around that EP, and our audience love it. We might do a little nostalgic moment for them.
There’s a lot of noise around Nova Twins now, and whilst the majority is positive, it’s impossible not to have some negative comments swirling around. When things feel overwhelming, what keeps you grounded?
Georgia South: Our fans, 100%. They’re our biggest supporters, and we want to do them proud. It feels like when we achieve something, we all achieve it together. When you create music though, you have to be confident with what you put out, and you have to back yourself. You’re baring your heart and putting it into the hands of the world, so we’ll never release anything that we don’t fully back. We lose nights of sleep whilst we’re getting things exactly how we want them, and we’re so meticulous as a way of protecting ourselves. The industry is savage, but if you back yourself completely, you can’t be torn down.
It takes a lot to let people into such unfiltered truths, but with vulnerability comes healing. What does that healing process look like for you?
Amy Love: The album was definitely an outlet, but we’re still learning every day. We started out as girls, and now we’re women, but we still don’t have all the answers. Some days are great, some aren’t. The most important thing is appreciating the little things – laughter, gardening, nurturing a plant, spending time with loved ones. Those tiny moments are so valuable. It’s also about appreciating the team and audience who’ve stuck with us through everything, because we know that’s not a given. We’ve worked really hard to get to where we are, but we’re still just taking it day by day. We don’t know what’s around the corner. We focus on enjoying the moments that fill us with love and excitement and finding better ways to navigate the ones that don’t.
Find tickets to see Nova Twins in October 2025
