Nova Twins @ Engine Rooms, Southampton

Nova Twins, the English rock duo consisting of Amy Love and Georgia South, formed in 2014, had kicked off the second leg of the Parasites & Butterflies tour the previous night at Chalk. I attended the following night at the Engine Rooms in Southampton. A well sized venue for live music and the mosh pit to come. 

I had first heard rumblings of the duo after their second album; Supernova were shortlisted for 2022 Mercury Prize and had earned two BRIT Awards nominations.

Support came from Venus Grrrls and Bex. Venus Grrrls brought gothic vibes entertaining the crowd as they filtered in for the evening. Bex followed with explosive stage presence had the crowd jumping along with her and primed the room for the main act.

Nova twins came on stage at 9pm opening with ‘Black Roses’. The intro had pounding drums that fired up the crowd who waited to jump, sing along and begin the mosh pit. I was near the front, forming part of the pit wall. The lighting was tightly synced with each track, enhancing the atmosphere and helped to indicate the correct timing for headbanging. Amy Love alternated between playing guitar and taking the mic. When she was free from the guitar she was able to cover the stage with a mic taking up space providing electric energy. Georgia South was expertly playing the bass while working on a plethora of bass peddles which filled the room with a sound far bigger than a two piece.

The setlist spanned music from all three of the albums, ‘Parasites & Butterflies’, ‘Supernova’ (Mercury nominated) and ‘Who Are The Girls’. Some stand outs for me were ‘Cleopatra’, ‘Taxi’, ‘N.O.V.A’ and ‘Parallel Universe’. During ‘Choose Your Fighter’ the duo jumped into the pit to the delight of the audience who remained respectful of the girls’ space, with a lucky audience member becoming a temporary mic stand for Amy.

The set ended with a haunting, stripped back rendition of ‘Hummingbird’, the vocals were hypnotic like a siren song convincing me to follow them into the deep. The Nova Twins took a short break after this song returning to very excited crowd who were creating a wall of sound to welcome them back. Finishing their set with crowd pleasers ‘Antagonist’, ‘Monsters’ and ‘Glory’, which the crowd were able to recite word for word in time with Amy. The crowd all seemed familiar with the entire set, with non-stop jumping and headbanging. Amy even recognised some fans who had been at the Brighton show the last night. I have to give roses to Amy Love as she was able to maintain a great vocal range, various singing styles all while commanding the stage and pit, interacting with the crowd and her band mate Georgia. 

The stylish merch table was high in demand at the end of the gig, I can only say that the girls know their crowd as the items were designed well and even had a pair of Nova Twins branded high socks. Their stage outfits added to their cool, distinctive aesthetic also seeing some attendees of the concert in themed Butterflies and Parasites outfits. If you are lucky enough to see this duo live I have to recommend getting a front row space and fully lose yourself at the show.