Nova Twins: Angels and Devils

“When we achieved balance, the album achieved balance.”

— Amy LoveFor those concerned that this period may have made the album less vibrant and intense compared to the band's earlier works, there's no need to worry; 'Parasites & Butterflies' remains a striking and powerful showcase of their abilities. From the exhilarating chaos that erupts in the opening track ‘Glory’ to the robust energy of lead single ‘Monsters’—a song that deeply explores their mental state during the writing process—through to the playfully catchy chant of ‘N.O.V.A.’, it is undoubtedly an album that energizes. “It wasn’t solely dark; there was light too, and that’s why we wanted to portray both aspects,” Amy adds. “Initially, it felt dark, and we thought, ‘oh, this feels a bit depressing,’ which was fine, but we wanted to have fun and represent our full range. So we decided, ‘Alright, let’s have some fun, let’s enjoy a night out,’ and that upbeat energy began to emerge in the album, leading to a good balance. When we found balance, the album found balance.”At this stage, the core theme of the record started to reveal itself: “Once we had enough songs for a comprehensive listen, we noticed the themes of beauty and chaos,” Georgia shares. “It was very much a contrast of light and dark because that was how we were feeling.” A quick look at the album’s tracklist offers clear evidence, featuring titles like ‘Glory’ and ‘Hummingbird’ alongside ‘Monsters’, ‘Piranha’, and ‘Hurricane’. “When we considered the album title, we wanted something that embodied that chaos and beauty,” she continues. “One of the lyrics in ‘Sandman’ speaks of parasites and butterflies, and we knew it was just right. It captures that balance: one must understand chaos to appreciate beauty.”This yin and yang notion extended beyond the album itself; it also emerged during the recording process. After months of refining demos with hundreds of stem files, the duo moved to a markedly different setting from their dimly lit basement on the South Coast of the UK: the vast landscapes of Brattleboro, Vermont. “Suddenly, we were surrounded by so much space, distance, and land,” Amy recalls about the shift in their surroundings when they arrived in the US to collaborate with producer Rich Costey. “Sometimes, stepping away and disconnecting from our phones helps put things into perspective, allowing us to focus on the art and what we love.”Even the story of their initial meeting with the producer—who has collaborated with musical giants such as Muse, My Chemical Romance, The Killers, and Rage Against The Machine—feels almost prophetic. “We were quite anxious about going since we hadn’t met Rich before,” she elaborates. “We’d only met him once on Zoom, so we thought, ‘oh my god, we’re headed to the middle of Vermont…’” “In the woods, where there are bears,” Georgia interjects, before Amy continues: “We had never met this producer, and you often hear horror stories about producers being quite intense, so we hoped he would just be normal and nice. Our first encounter was at an eclipse party, and it felt surreal.”After enduring a lengthy period of uncertainty, it was during a solar eclipse that everything finally fell into place for the duo. “It was unbelievable,” Georgia recounts, “the lighting was strange and eerie.” “The darkness enveloped the land, didn’t it?” Amy recalls, a sense of awe still present in her voice. “It was honestly astonishing. We were in complete wonder, and we took it as a good omen for the album, as if to say, ‘everything's going to be alright.’”