Nova, a.k.a Bryn Van Vliet and Eliza Pickard, bring a smooth groove to their sound. It’s a jazz-esque vibe, one to get you swaying gently as they deliver it in a wine bar, in an open air festival, or anywhere. This kind of music fits anywhere, and that’s not easy to capture.

Now personally, I don’t go looking for this genre. What that doesn’t mean is that I don’t see and hear the quality in Temple, their latest single. It’s been well thought out and arranged. It’s certainly well engineered and mastered. The musicianship is first class from our band leaders, and fellow members Phoebe Johnson, Conway Jeune and Luther Hunt. Melody-wise it’s a surprisingly quirky song, with elements of staccato weighted against flowing lead vocals in the chorus.

I’m very much a fan of strong lyrics which are born from personal experience. I’ll let Bryn elaborate on the meaning to Temple.

“‘Temple’ is about the push and pull of various dense emotions that we feel,” explains Bryn. “Written in the third person, the “Temple” mentioned is actually referring to the self. When I wrote this, I was going through a depressive stage and feeling rather low. Throughout, there are overarching themes which ask the questions: where are you at right now? How are you at the moment? In order to remain somewhat anonymous, the song to me acknowledges these feelings through a safety net of metaphor. Despite these feelings, the chorus remains uplifting and hopeful.”

Definitely a band I will be interested in hearing more from. Like I said, I don’t especially go out of my way to look for this genre – but these guys intrigue me somewhat. Most definitely worth checking out.