Album Review: The Nova Twins - "Supernova"

 

It's safe to say that the Nova Twins' profile has skyrocketed in the last couple of years with their debut album, 2020's Who Are The Girls?, looking certain to clean up until Covid grounded everything. Nevertheless, the group are back unbowed with their sophomore effort Supernova.

Similar to groups like the Skints and Sonic Boom Six, the Nova Twins' schtick is to mix dub rhythms with punk attitude. Except they offer a much heavier take on the formula than either of the above with the bludgeoning riffs on the likes of former single Antagonist and album highlight Choose Your Fighter almost going into full-on Nine Inch Nails territory. The group have the brutal attitude to match on the lyrics to KMB which turns the whole Eminem murdered girlfriend song on its head to vicious effect or the menacing bass-heavy Toolbox and the unbridled anger of Enemy.

If there's a slight downside to this album, it's that the Nova Twins' formula does start to get a bit repetitive over the course of a full 30 minutes. The anger is definitely righteous and justified but there comes a point where endless references to being a bad bitch and fucking people up just starts to get a bit samey and predictable despite the volume and aggression which is surely the last thing a young punk group looking to shake up the system should be. A little bit of subtlety here and there would have turned what's still a decent album into a genuinely great one. There's a couple of occasions where they almost nail this like on A Dark Place For Somewhere Beautiful and the creeping closer Sleep Paralysis but even when they're trying to be more thoughtful they can't resist going "fuck it" and suddenly crashing in full blast like they do on every other track leaving some of the later songs with a depressing air of “heard it all before” about them. 

The Nova Twins are definitely a vital band and they're good at mixing up genres to fierce effect. The only component that's missing here is an ability to let the songs breathe a bit (the way that for example Bob Vylan, who they share a fair bit of musical DNA with, did with Health Is Wealth)  rather than just going full on teeth bared in for the kill with every song and burning yourself out. At the moment, the Nova Twins are a great idea for a band who just aren’t quite there yet musically. But I’m pretty sure that once they master that glitch in their armour, there's gonna be no stopping them. Hopefully.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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