Novulent’s ‘Vol. 3’ Is a Finale That Sounds Like a Beginning
At 21 and based in Texas, Novulent makes alternative music that lives in the tension between beauty and bite. The songs drift in shoegaze fog, snap with post-punk edge, and glow with dream-pop sheen, all while dark-wave shadows keep everything moving forward.
That push and pull hits its clearest form on VOL. 3, Novulent’s debut album for Capitol Records and the closing chapter of a trilogy that’s been unfolding over the past three years. Though more impressively, Novulent has also built this world from the inside out, handling the work as singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and visual architect, with a vision that stretches past the audio into a full universe. The reference points are wide but cohesive, pulling from Deftones and My Bloody Valentine’s heavy-lift textures, then refracting them through the heightened mood of coming-of-age films like Thirteen, Mysterious Skin, and All About Lily Chou-Chou.
And as a result, the momentum has been strong. After a run of inward-looking releases in 2022, Novulent caught fire with “Scars,” which has now passed 171 million streams on Spotify. From there, VOL. 1 and VOL. 2 expanded the vision, covering universal topics like heartbreak, identity shifts, and the complicated aftershocks that follow when your worldview cracks. Now, VOL. 3 pulls those threads together, mapping love as something layered and inconsistent over the notion of pure, effortless certainty.
In conversation with Stardust, Novulent breaks down the trilogy’s full arc and what it means to close one chapter while the next one starts to take shape.
Vol. 3 is the finale of your own trilogy. When did you know it had to be three parts?
Novulent: I never planned it; it just felt right, just like how my creative process is. You just let it happen. Forcing limits on what you want to do.
What did you want the last chapter to resolve or address emotionally?
Novulent: No emotions, honestly. It’s not really about resolving, it’s more about understanding you can't solve emotions—they're weird and complicated, and I understand that I’m comfortable with it.
You’ve framed the trilogy as a progression in perspective, from who you were at 18 to who you are now. Looking back across Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3, what changed the most in how you understand yourself as an artist?
Novulent: That I can do whatever I want to express myself, no matter the style of rock, and I shouldn't be afraid to show that off; that there are no rules to how you should express yourself.
Your sound pulls from Deftones and My Bloody Valentine in a way that feels natural rather than referential. What specific elements do you chase from their influence, sonically or emotionally?
Novulent: I don't chase to be like them by inspiration; it's really just how I got into rock music. Deftones and Whirr are the bands that kicked off my interest; everything else has been all me. I don't wanna be like anyone i want to be a better version of myself.
Over the course of this trilogy, you’ve pulled inspiration from strong films like Mysterious Skin and Thirteen, plus anime worlds that feel just as immersive. If you had to pick one visual universe that most closely matches what you pictured for Vol. 3, what would it be, and why?
Novulent: To be honest, I don't have a world to pull from; anything that comes to mind never perfectly captures what VOL.3 is—the ignorance I have with staying true to myself births its own world.
“new low,” “rip,” and “evil eye” each approach love from a different angle: toxic attachment, new energy, and returning to the person who ruined you. Were these songs written as separate snapshots, or as plot points in a bigger story?
Novulent: All of VOL.3 is a story from start to end. It's a coming-of-age movie in music form, that's how the VOL. albums are.
In closing, as you close out this trilogy—what are you most proud of?
Novulent: I'm most proud of how far my own vision has gone and that I can connect to so many people and will continue to do so. It's what drives me.
