August 29th, the last “New Music Friday” of Summer 2025, saw some exciting end-of-summer releases from many major artists. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend,” in particular, was one of the most anticipated albums of the season. But that one’s gotten enough press lately. Let’s talk about another powerhouse new release that you should be listening to, one slightly left of the mainstream: Nova Twins’ “Parasites & Butterflies.”
Who are the Nova Twins?
While they haven’t quite reached the household-name recognition level of artists like Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan, the Nova Twins aren’t exactly obscure. I won’t pretend I’m the first person to ever appreciate their songs. The UK-based rock duo have won a number of awards for their music, including the Mercury Music Prize and Kerrang! Magazine’s Band of the Year 2022.
Vocalist/guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South (who aren’t really twins, but childhood best friends) are known for their hardcore sound. Their exact genre is hard to pin down, by design, but nu-metal, punk, and rap-rock are probably a few good key terms to keep in mind.
It’s worth mentioning that the Nova Twins are also musical activists. They frequently use their own music to discuss their identities as Black women in rock, and through their growing popularity, they’ve supported and spotlighted other POC alternative artists.
Oh, and they’ve got a great sense of style. So that’s basically what you need to know.
“Parasites & Butterflies”
“Parasites & Butterflies” is, put simply, a very cool album. From its sound to its lyrics to its overall aesthetic, it evokes the same feeling of genuine, effortless coolness as the Nova Twins themselves.
While it doesn’t tell a linear story like many other concept albums do, it definitely revolves around a central theme. The through-line is the coexistence of opposites. Light and dark, angels and monsters, and of course, parasites and butterflies. These things might initially seem at war with each other, but they might not be so mutually exclusive after all…
The album cover reflects this motif, showing Love and South gazing into their own reflections. While the cover has a light half and a dark half, it’s not immediately clear if either version of the Twins is fully “good” or fully “evil.”
The dark, upside-down reflections are physically attached to the light, rightside-up ones. Neither can exist without the other. “Parasites & Butterflies” is about nuance. It’s about conflicting, chaotic traits existing within one identity.
While I admit, I don’t think this album cover is as visually exciting as 2022’s “Supernova,” it fantastically illustrates what this album is all about.
As a fun added bonus, the album was produced by Rich Costey. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, he’s the one who produced another album I reviewed — the re-mixed version of MCR’s “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.” Oh, and he’s worked with the Foo Fighters, Vampire Weekend, Muse, Linkin Park, and countless other big-names in rock and alternative. Seeing his name on this project was another major green flag for me going into my review.
Song-by-song deep-dive
I definitely recommend listening to this album in its entirety, from start to finish. While some of the tracks caught my attention more than others, after a few listens, I feel confident enough to say that “Parasites & Butterflies” is a cohesive work. It’s meant to be experienced as a whole, and it’s best enjoyed that way too. Still, I wanted to break down my thoughts on each song and share what really stood out to me.
Maybe, if you haven’t got the time to hear a whole Nova Twins album right now, or you’re still not sure whether or not you’ll like the band, you can at least pick a song or two to sample.
“Glory”
“Glory” is one of the songs I was less sure about on my first listen. It introduces a lot of the dualistic themes that the album really chews on. With biblical allusions to serpents and angels, it’s jam packed with imagery. It’s not the strongest or catchiest song on the album, but it’s a good opener and a solid scene-setter. “Glory” makes it clear that “Parasites & Butterflies” is going to consistently maintain a hauntingly beautiful and destructive atmosphere. This is a track that subtely grows on you the more you hear it.
“Piranha”
Released as a single before the official album drop, “Piranha” is one of the first songs off “Parasites & Butterflies” that I got to hear. It’s instantly catchy and intense, expanding on the themes of corruption introduced in “Glory.” One of the only songs on the album with an obvious political meaning, “Piranha” asks its audience to acknowledge the growing tensions around them. Again, duality is ever-present. The piranhas in the water represent both the global corruption of fascism, as well as the power that everyday people hold in fighting back against it. According to Amy Love, “Piranha” is “a song for strength.”
And I agree. I think this song is definitely one of the strongest on the album. It had me wishing more “Parasites & Butterflies” tracks tied this directly into the Nova Twins’ politics and activism.
“Monsters”
“Monsters” admittedly falls a little flat to me. It’s far from a bad song musically, but the line “I’m not afraid of monsters, but I’m afraid of myself” feels overdone. I instantly just thought about Eminem and Rihanna’s “The Monster” on my first listen.The song does stay true to the album’s ethos though, exploring themes of inner corruption and heaven/hell parallels.
“Soprano”
This one is, without a doubt, my favorite “Parasites & Butterflies” song. The lyrics are fast and fun, with clever rhymes throughout. (For example “Show ’em how to switch up / Get so graphic, make you wanna take a picture / I like to stay high, feel that bass down low / Frequency melt your brain like whoa.”) And naturally, the chorus shows off Amy Love’s (soprano) vocal talent. The heavy, noisy, and chaotic instrumentals are so quintessentially Nova Twins.
“Drip”
“Drip” is another fast-paced hype-up song. The lyrics come so quickly that I’ll have to listen to the song a million times to catch them all. My first impression of “Drip” was that it reminds me of a cinematic car chase. In the best way.
“N.O.V.A.”
The intro to “N.O.V.A.” was immediately exciting to hear, as it taps into the band’s hardcore punk side. As you could guess from the title, “N.O.V.A.” is about the Nova Twins themselves, as well as their identity as Black alt-musicians. The “say N-O-V-A” cheer in the song’s chorus is hard-hitting and incredibly catchy. The music video, which shows the Nova Twins performing a concert inside a jukebox, discovered by two young Black girls, is both eye-catching and suitable for the song itself.
“Sandman”
The Nova Twins constantly play with genre, and “Sandman” is a great example track when it comes pushing the limits. The verse is fast and rap-rock-y, while the chorus (the first chorus, anyway) is a little more gothic in nature. Parts of the song almost have a halloween-y, haunted house vibe — especially when the distorted organ sound effects come in. This song stood out as “the spooky one” when I first listened through the album. I think it’s a solid track, but not one of my top songs.
“Hummingbird”
“Hummingbird” is a nice mid-album slow-down. It’s not as loud and in-your-face as the rest of “Parasites & Butterflies,” which led me not to like it as much initially (I love things that are loud and in-your-face). But “Hummingbird” definitely has its merits. The distorted, pitched-up vocals are a highlight for me. They keep the song interesting and prevent it from feeling overly slow.
“Parallel Universe”
This one’s definitely my favorite from the second-half of the album. It’s another song that feels like it could play during the climax of an action movie. The lyrics are simple, but constantly enjoyable. Of course, a song called “Parallel Universe” deals with duality again: the repeated rhymes “Love me / hate me / SOS / save me” and “Love me / adore me / build me up / destroy me” are the backbone of the song. The lyric “Everybody’s a god, on the internet” seems to imply that the internet IS the titular “Parallel Universe.” With this in mind, the song becomes twice as interesting to listen to.
“Hide & Seek”
“Hide & Seek” is a weak point of the album for me. Listening to it on its own, I don’t dislike it, but I think it should have come earlier in the album. “Parasites & Butterflies” definitely puts its strongest songs first. “Hide & Seek” boasts some interesting instrumental effects, and the Twins’ forever-cool use of distortion almost makes me feel bad for having anything against this song at all. I think it suffers from an overly basic title more than anything.
“Hurricane”
“Hurricane” is an upbeat fight song about enduring intense pressures and emerging stronger. The lyrics reference famous historical warriors, such as gladiators, Muhammed Ali, and the Hausa fighter Queen Amina. The song has a chant-like intro, which gives it a unique character. Like “Piranha,” this is another song for strength, aimed particularly at inspiring women to be unashamed of their ambitions. “Hurricane” definitely feels like a hidden gem on this album.
“Black Roses”
“Black Roses” is far from the best song on “Parasites & Butterflies.” If Spotify streaming numbers are anything to go by, this seems like a popular consensus. Compared to other more lyrically complex songs on the album, this one comes off a bit simplistic. However, while the song doesn’t really stand out on its own, when listening to “Parasites & Butterflies” as a whole, it’s a great roundabout conclusion. “Black Roses” re-introduces the ideas presented in “Glory” — the duality of angels and demons, beauty and poison. The album ends where it began, with the thesis that light and dark, heaven and hell, and parasites and butterflies are not exactly polar opposites.
Rock On, Nova Twins
“Parasites & Butterflies” will absolutely be an album I keep coming back to. It exemplifies and preserves the Nova Twins’ unique sound without retreading the same ground as either of their previous albums. They’ve got a song and a vibe for any occasion in the life of an alternative music fan. I highly recommend giving “Parasites & Butterflies” a listen. At the very least, try out a song or two (“Piranha,” “Soprano,” “N.O.V.A.” and “Parallel Universe” are all great places to start).
With this album, the Nova Twins have proven once and for all that chaos and intensity are fundamental aspects of poetry and beauty. “Parasites & Butterflies” makes that incredibly clear. And I hope they never lose their fantastic edge.
