LIVE FROM THE PIT: Nova Twins, Venus Grrrls and Bex

The salt-tinged air of Brighton was home to Chalk, and despite being Friday the 13th, there was nothing unlucky about the night ahead. NOVA TWINS, childhood friends from London, have been on an impressive upward trajectory since the release of their debut album Who Are The Girls? back in 2020, snagging BRIT Awards nominations and landing spots on the bill of industry heavyweights like MUSE and FOO FIGHTERS. Now, in celebration of their latest release Parasites & Butterflies, they’ve hit the road with a headline tour of their own. Joined by punk firestarter BEX and the haunting gothic quintet VENUS GRRRLS the night promised a powerful celebration of female talent in alternative music. 

BEX flounced onstage in a flurry of bouncy red curls and nothing short of pure punk energy. She launched into ferocious vocallisations, and the crowd, who were mostly lingering by the bar, quickly turned their attention to the stage. Between songs, she revealed a different side: softly introducing herself with a borderline shy demeanour that was devoid of the explosive anger she’d just unleashed. Midway through, BEX pulled out a bass draped with a humble red fabric covering that was strewn with leopard-print stars. “This one's a swayer… I want you all to sway,” she told the crowd, before introducing the new and unreleased track. Fairies slowed the tempo of the show, but the punchy drums and solid bassline thread throughout kept the energy simmering. 

Opening a show can be tough, but BEX refused to let the initial hesitation from the crowd dampen her momentum. Between sharp, passionate dance moves and repeated calls for participation, she slowly pulled the crowd into her world. By her final song, Slave 2 The Grind, one member of the crowd joked, “Are you gonna stage dive?” and BEX took the challenge. Launching herself into the scattered crowd during the bridge, she surfed her way to the back of the venue before sprinting back to the stage, singing to members of the crowd along the way. Collapsing on the ground in laughter, her infectious joy emanated throughout the room, clearly winning over a whole new wave of fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDr42HwRDxErA&v=r42HwRDxErA

A stark shift from the whimsical punk of the opener followed as the witchy VENUS GRRRLS began setting up. Yet, it was clear that much of the crowd was already part of the coven, needing little persuasion from the powerful quintet. The band's eerie entrance was quickly disrupted by the powerful riot-grrl recent release 3x3. The lighting mirrored the band's aspired atmosphere throughout the set, bathing the room in a forest green as we reached the slower Glisten. The moment allowed vocalist GRACE KELLY to showcase her luscious tone, as occasionally her vocals couldn’t quite rise over ALANNAGH DOHERTY’s impressively thunderous drumming.

While the rest of the band tuned their instruments, KELLY leaned fully into the occult aesthetic they had worked hard to create, turning the pause into part of the performance. As an eerie track pulsed across the venue, whispering phrases like “as above, so below,” she waved her hands amidst a smoke-filled room as if casting a spell, drawing the audience deeper into ritual. Closing with Eighteen Crows, the track that encapsulates them most, the band left the crowd elated, with a distinct sense that they had just been part of something dark, theatrical, and electrifying.

By this point, Chalk was packed, with techs arranging giant white roses across the stage and draping the mics in black ones, and as the lights dimmed and synths rose, anticipation rippled across the audience. The duo burst onstage to the rising riffs of Black Roses, with vocalist AMY LOVE caressing the rose-wrapped mics as she sang. By the time Cleopatra arrived, the moshpit detonated, bodies surging forward at LOVE’s calls for the crowd to let loose. What began as a tentative pit steadily grew throughout the set, spreading further across the room until it became a whirlwind of sweat and movement beneath a glittering disco ball overhead. The band’s signature distortion translated impressively live, with bassist GEORGIA SOUTH effortlessly shifting the room's energy with the slightest tap of her pedal.

During N.O.V.A, the devoted fans erupted, screaming back the title lyrics as SOUTH mouthed “say our name,” before diving straight back into the chaos. When the distorted bassline of Choose Your Fighter kicked in, the pit surged, becoming tighter, louder and more intense while those less keen to be in the eye of the storm filtered to the edges. At the song's climax, both LOVE and SOUTH leapt into the centre, a frenzied circle pit swimming around them like sharks as the bassline thundered throughout the venue.

After thanking the crowd and scurrying back onstage, the audience was visibly spent, and the pit never quite regained its earlier ferocity. Following Piranha, the duo briefly left the stage before returning to loud applause. Rather than launching straight into their encore, LOVE paused to address the crowd: “Thank you so much for coming and supporting live music… In the age of TikTok where people have no attention spans, thank you.” They closed with Glory - a fitting finale to a powerful night of electrifying and unadulterated female punk.

Words: Chloe Sodeau

Photos: Ewan Mcdonald