Gig review: Nova Twins at Rock City

It’s clear from the off that Nova Twins came here to prove a point. Antagonist is the perfect opener in this regard. Despite being from 2022’s sophomore album Supernova, it remains a brutally fitting and complete distillation of Nova Twins’ ethos. Their music is taut, muscular and for the most part utterly frenetic. Scuzzy, filthy riffs cascade from the stage one after the other, keeping the crowd in almost perpetual motion as they mosh and jump and sing along at the top of their voices to Amy Love’s machine-gun vocals.

Stood beside Love on the stage is Georgia South. Thousands of words could be written about her bass playing alone. Endlessly inventive, relentlessly precise and always bad-ass, she plays like the love-child of Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Commerford, were it raised on The Prodigy. She is the band’s not-so-secret weapon and the perfect foil to Love’s vocal style as she paints a beautifully messy canvas beneath.

You could tire yourself out just watching her shoes dancing between pedal switches, each stomp coaxing out a wild new sound. Among the most impressive moments is her use of the “Hot Hand” MIDI controller, in the form of a ring which lets her modulate the tone and pitch of her playing by moving her hand in 3D space. It’s completely transfixing every time and allows her to switch between grunge-y, crunchy riffs and acid-house like waves of synthy noise on the fly.

The sheer breadth of sounds that South can conjure up from her instrument is remarkable and she remains the most talented bassist I’ve seen live. Being able to watch her demonstrate her craft onstage, to see how the sounds on record were created and to hear them translated into a live environment is an absolute joy that never gets old.

On with the gig, and N.O.V.A proves a mid-set highlight with its savage rap-rock stylings and snarled lyrics dripping with braggadocio. As the band blast through songs from Parasites & Butterflies, however, you can hear how their songwriting has developed between albums, with extra emotional shading being added in around the more overt defiance, which nevertheless remains always within reach.

This expansion toward greater emotional range is a theme of the newer songs, and Love’s vocals are just as impactful and versatile as they are on the album. It reaches its cathartic peak at Hummingbird, which is content to lay back and expand before exploding into a fitting finale for the main set. It also allows for clever pacing throughout the gig, letting the savagery of the louder songs shine, dealing extra damage when deployed, as in the chaotic and electrifying Choose Your Fighter.

While there are a dozen songs tonight that finish with huge riffs and that would be ideal capstones to any gig, the final run of songs represents a joyous climax, with the dial turned all the way up to 11 by the time Glory leaves a wowed crowd baying for more.

At one point the crowd sings Happy Birthday to Love, the fans at the barrier unfurling a banner covered in handwritten well wishes as a cake is brought out. It’s a wholesome moment and you sense that a gig at Rock City is as much a gift for them as it is for the audience.

“We’ve always dreamed of playing Rock City,” says Georgia South, echoing so many bands and reinforcing how lucky Nottingham is to have such a storied venue. Birthday present or not, Nova Twins conquered the hallowed stage with ease and as with so much of what they do, made it their own.

Nova Twins performed at Rock City on 20th March 2026, with support from Venus Grrrls and Precious Pepala (pictured below).

@novatwinsmusic