The Nova Darlings Release Second Single of 2025
Single Review ★ Alyssa Bushman ★ @lissyb_21 ★ 400 Words
The Nova Darlings are a group of four friends grooving to the beat of their own drum. An indie rock band composed of Mackin Carroll, Carter Couron, Sara Mulford, and Larry Scanniello. The band formed in college in 2015. As Los Angeles locals, they have been on the scene for a while, honing in on what their true sound could be. They have been performing since 2015 but only have had songs released on Spotify from 2017. The Nova Darlings have an indie rock vibe that feels similar to The Strokes.
They recently put out a new single titled Safe. They paired it with a previously released song titled See Ya, which was released on April 4th of this year. See Ya opens with a jarring scream followed by a heavy guitar line paired with gritty vocals. This song feels like a car ride with your lover with your lover in a beat up old truck. The harmonies pair perfectly together to create a subtle sound. It feels like the aforementioned pretend couple in the truck have started to sing together.
Safe feels like running around with your crush just before you guys confess your mutual feelings for each other. The feelings are super confusing but it feels fun and fresh, it feels safe. The instrumentation is all consuming in that it feels almost like it is swallowing the song up in a really cool way.
The delivery of the lyrics is also super interesting because you expect it to be pretty chill and calm but instead it almost feels like you are spending the song chasing the words falling out of someone’s mouth. At about a minute and a half in this super heavy guitar line comes in and it feels like realizing that you have the ability to be vulnerable with someone. The rest of the song then feels like sitting in that moment together. It builds and builds until it feels like a release of any anxious energy that could have built up just fizzles out.
The Nova Darlings have found a sound that feels true to them. The sound is super bouncy but still rock inspired. They were able to capture the feeling of true vulnerability and put it into a super fun and catchy tune that I will have on repeat for the foreseeable future.
