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Rockaway Beach 2020, Butlin's, Bognor Regis - Part Two

  • Published in Live

Image:- Steven Velentzas (@captainstavros)

Saturday dawned grey and blowy so clearly it was the best day to check out the excellent new swimming pool and flumes, improved no doubt by the lack of children (waiting up to 50 minutes to climb upstairs to the highest slides in peak season sounds awful).

Having got that fun out of the way we repaired to see Dutch trio The Sweet Release Of Death. A mix of Sonic Youth & Argentina's Capsula best describes their sound. A loud, propulsive and enjoyable way to start off today's live offerings.

Captain Stavros is a great advocate of the work of Our Girl & for me they were one of the very few acts whose Flying Vinyl disc was worth keeping hold of. This evening though the Brighton trio's sound strikes me as no more than pleasant. More bite is what I seem to be after in many cases this weekend and the indie on offer in their set isn't really grabbing my attention so I step out for some air after a couple of tracks.

Our main stage sojourn tonight kicks off with Peter Perrett, not far off the same vintage as John Cale from the night before. An articulate & amusing lyricist whose set on Marc Riley's 6 Music show last year was one of the best of 2019, he has a great number of punchy songs in his repertoire. Unfortunately he doesn't play these in the first part of his set & I'm left yet again trying to explain an act's relevance to The Captain as we mooch back down the stairs.

Next up though comes what, with hindsight, was the best act of the weekend and I'm not even a fan. Nova Twins' play funk metal, in the main, & that's one sub-genre I've never liked. They do though play it loudly and extremely well (their technical ability is fantastic). Singer Amy Love is genuinely pleased to be playing on a stage in a venue she's been to a number of times on childhood holidays and that pleasure is evident in the exuberance of her and Georgia South on bass (no idea who the bloke on drums is). I manage to stick around for most of the set, just to experience the volume & distortion and it's safe to say they do the job required of warm-up act very well. Perhaps too well in fact.

For tonight's headliners are The Jesus & Mary Chain, reformed in the past couple of years and with an overlong comeback album under their belts. Jim Reid falls foul of the urge to be ironic about Butlin's (managing to equate the place with "Stalag 17") and it's also their bad luck to have poor guitar sound for much of the show, rendering William Reid's guitar solos practically silent. I last saw the band on the Destroyer showcase tour in the '90s in the aircraft hanger that is Glasgow's SECC, a venue far too large for them & so tonight is intimate in comparison. Back then though it was already clear they'd shot their bolt in terms of audience baiting antics etc. and tonight was a reminder of how many of their tunes speak to you as a gloomy teenager but in middle age turn out to be plodders. The final straw is Jim's attempt at a joke prior to the encore "we'll go off for a half cup of tea" - just man up and either say a beer or don't mess around with a break in the set at all. Much of the crowd aren't in a state to care anyway so why not plough on? 

When the band speed things up and the sound technician improves things guitar-wise a bit this is probably a vintage performance from the JAMC as they are now but they were close to being blown offstage by the previous trio. Not feeling the need to stick around for an hour until Steve Lamacq gets behind the decks to unleash some lame musical world cup or other we call it a night.

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Nova Twins Announce UK Tour

  • Published in News

Following a hot and sweaty and hugely successful UK tour, Nova Twins have announced another run of UK shows in 2020. Last week, Nova Twins released another punch-in-your-face-anthem, ‘Vortex’.  The track bobs and weaves with effortlessly cool swagger, vocal nods to the queen of hip-hop (Missy Elliott), and headbanging basslines and siren guitar riffs.  

‘Vortex’ follows on from the huge success of their previous single ‘Devil’s Face’.  The band turned heads when they performed to packed tents during this summer's busy festival season (Boomtown, Download, Hellfest and Nova Rock festivals and a blistering set at this year’s Heavy Music Awards to name but a few) and smashed it every night on tour with Prophets Of Rage across Europe and the UK.  Nova Twins are also the featured artists in the current Dr Martens A/W. Further to this, the duo have just embarked on a short UK tour supporting legends Skunk Anansie, ahead of their headline UK tour later this September (with London and Brighton dates already sold out).

When you’ve never seen yourself in music, there’s an opportunity to build something from nothing. To make tracks that don’t sound directly like anyone else's. “We had to work out our identities within music because we never had a reflection,” says Georgia South, Nova Twins bassist. “This is a 21st-century take on rock. It’s so many things.” Singer and guitarist Amy Love adds with a smile, “It’s the NOVA sound.”

The strong and unique bass guitar of Georgia South and the incisive vocals of Amy Love are the driving force of Nova Twins.  ‘Devil’s Face’ and ‘Vortex’ showcasing their unique future-rave-rock sound. The duo refuse to conform to any template, fusing bass-heavy grimey punk and taking inspiration from all corners of audio, from bands like N.E.R.D., Betty Davis, Jack White but also Missy Elliott, Princess Nokia and Rihanna, capturing fans of all demographics with their riotous energy. The best friends have turned rock on its head, injecting their songs with boundless energy, barely controlled rage and heavy riffs.  The pair, always dressed head-to-toe in designs they’ve made themselves, are uniquely genre-bending.

Nova Twins use their platform to champion inclusivity and diversity with their high-octane, genre-warping approach. Effortlessly cool in not only their musical output but in every element of what they do creatively as artists.  From designing and making their own outfits for all videos, photoshoots and stage wear to the art direction on their videos.  Nova Twins are above all, strong, independent and inspiring women.  Their modus operandi is to take socio-political experiences from their day-to-day and turn it into something their fans can lose themselves in.

February 2020

 1st    Cardiff, The Moon

2nd    Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge

3rd    Newcastle, Cluny 2

4th    Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

5th    Manchester, Jimmy's NQ

6th    London, Colours

 

 

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