Supernova’s intro track, Power, is an interesting case in point. More than a mere entry to the record, it’s something of a baptism of fire, a pledge to do better and be stronger that concludes with the words: ‘Welcome to the end / And your new beginning.’ Now, whatever sounds you might expect to hear accompanying this emphatic drawing of a line under what’s come before, it’s safe to say your ideas won’t come anywhere near the resulting music.
In the space of 54 seconds, Power manages to encompass metallic punch and melting psychedelia; a juggling act of seriously disparate dynamics, it takes a moment to acclimatise to, but once you do you become aware of listening to something that’s genuinely and pleasingly different. “When [Georgia] sent the music over I…” words suddenly desert Amy and she’s overcome by thunderous laughter, as if hysteria is the only way to truly convey how it first hit her. “I knew this was it,” she continues. “Some other people might hear it and say, ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ but I got it and love it.”
Doing the obvious isn’t something that comes naturally to Georgia and Amy, with the idea of pandering to trends offending their sensibility. “Sometimes I do something because I’m trying to make it sound more digestible, but it ends up sounding really boring,” admits Georgia. “We don't want to follow trends, so we try to push it in a new direction, because that’s what makes it interesting for us.” Instead, they choose to flit between styles with total abandon, just as Amy does with her lyrical personas, transforming from an ancient warrior galvanised by the Black Lives Matter protests (Cleopatra), to a loveable villain (Fire & Ice), to a boyfriend killer?!
Georgia looks incredulous at the suggestion K.M.B. serves to strike fear in the hearts of men, because, let’s be honest, that dynamic generally works the other way, doesn’t it? The abduction and murder of Sarah Everard by a Metropolitan Police officer made her the 16th woman to be killed by a serving or former police officer since 2009. Furthermore, in the 28 weeks since Sarah’s murder, 81 other women were killed in circumstances in which the suspect was a man. “In this climate, women are genuinely terrified to walk the streets,” reasons Georgia of the imperative need for empowerment, admitting she herself won’t go out alone past 9pm.
“We’re setting the boundaries of what is and isn’t okay,” adds Amy. “It’s us saying, ‘Don’t fuck with us.’ We want people to join in and have fun, and it’s good to have dark humour within our songs, but we’re painting it as a horror movie rather than some happy-ever-after fantasy.”