INTERVIEW: Novulent is Ready to Share Their Sacrifice with "VOL. 3"

One of the most discussed voices in shoegaze talks social media success and storytelling in song

Rising alternative artist Novulent (Photo by Siena Saba)

Closing off their story-driven album trilogy, alternative rock artist Novulent released the final installment, VOL. 3, today on all platforms. Nearly three years after the release of VOL. 1, the Texas singer continues to develop their lo-fi aesthetics and connect with their fanbase, Novas, around the world. Art Seen ATL had the chance to speak with Novulent ahead of their new release at an °1824 press conference. In this conversation, we learned more about the themes, concepts, and insight that goes into the creative process of their musical journey.

In Novulent's grungy, shoegaze world, visuals play a crucial part alongside the sonics. They say the brand they’ve developed would be “70% gone” without this visual language. VOL 3. specifically utilizes green tones, spiky headphones, and iPod cameras to represent the DIY style they’ve previously established. Various elements of filmmaking and RPG video games serve as inspiration for Novulent as well. The music video for “sacrifice” features carousels to speak to larger themes of the record: “sacrificing the bond of someone who is holding you back.” With the album retaining the iPhone recording and mixing of their discography, the designs match the raw and atmospheric production one would find in Novulent’s songs.

Novulent talks VOL. 3 (Photo by Oliver Leone)

Their biggest hit, “scars,” has received global attention, not only thanks to its success on social media, but the honesty they weave into the gritty composition. Recently certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the achievement is impressive to Novulent as they did not expect it to take off online. “I say [this] in the context of […] not [being] just an artist that will drop a song that gets like 5 views. That song [“scars”] within a week got 300k [views],” they said. “I've never seen numbers like that ever in my life.” What most people may not know is their most-streamed song almost didn’t make it to the public.

“[When] I was making “scars,” it actually took a while. That song was going to get scrapped because even with the music that I make now, “scars” is a one-of-one type of song,” they said. “I don't have any songs with the same type of melody…even the preset that I use is completely different. It was so left field when I was making it, but there was something about it that I was just like, ‘no, I have to push through. I have to find a way to make this work. I feel like it really can work.’” The track still wasn’t an overnight success, though. “I dropped it, no one really cared about it tt the time because everyone was still super hype over “savior,” the artist said referencing the opening track to VOL. 1. “I had [these] other song[s] called “cold skin” and “enchanting” that we're doing a lot better than [“scars”]. [It] was really the underdog for a long time." Once it began to make waves, the rest was history as the song turned Novulent into an iconic staple of their scene.

Regarding songs on the new album, the closing track, “the world ends with you,” is one of the singer’s all-time favorites, knowing that its personal atmosphere and lyrics would make it the song off the album. What stood out to me most about the closer was the moments to exhale and be seated in Novulent’s self-expressions in the songwriting. With vocals that surround the listener from all angles, music like this could turn anyone into a Nova.

"Novas" is the nickname of the alternative artist’s fanbase. Novas are growing and becoming more prominent, much to the delight of Novulent. “It feels surreal, they said. “Just the idea that the creative vision that I have connects with so [many] people and potential new people […] [and] they're all willing to rally together and support me is amazing. Even now, I can never wrap my head around it when I'm on tour, performing for these sold out shows and everything, seeing everyone there. I can't fathom that this is really my life.” Speaking of shows, last year marked the first annual Novmas, a festival in Dallas inspired by the fan events held by artists such as Yungblud. Concerts like these are extremely valuable in developing these relationships with listeners.

Novulent tells stories about their fanbase, Novas (Photo by Oliver Leone)

Novas have been able to ground their views of Novulent as well. “I love my fanbase a lot, too, because [it] is not this idolizing type of fan base where it feels like a K-pop type of relationship,” the artist said. “They know and understand that I am a person, but because of the talent that I have, they have a deep respect for the fact that I'm able to put that into real life, and they can relate to it and how I can help them. Honestly, I want to keep that same type of fanbase throughout my entire career.” With personal expression being so important in the lyrics of the music, these boundaries are beneficial for both fan and artist.

Novulent’s favorite fan story revolves around a group of Novas who attended their live debut in Dallas. “There was this girl; she brought like her whole entire group of friends. Some of them did listen to me. Other ones didn't,” they said. “She brought this whole entire group of friends, and she was just freaking out about meeting me for the first time. For a while, I was pretty much faceless. A lot of people didn't know what I looked like, like at all. They didn't know how old I was, what I looked like or anything. This was the first time that people actually really got to see me.” The connection built in the music was key in the success at their first show.

“She was telling me how much my songs helped her. Her other friends were also saying the same thing. It was beautiful,” the singer said. “Around 120 people showed up for my first ever show, and a lot of them were pretty much just like, ‘you are going to get somewhere with this. This is amazing, holy sh-t.’  Seeing them now every time whenever I do a show, they still show up to shows to this day. It feels like seeing a friend from kindergarten grow up in real time. You just get this crazy nostalgia feeling because every time when I see that group of people, I'm always just like ‘yeah, you guys are literally here when I started from the beginning.’ Whether it’s the day-ones or the people who discovered the most recent musings of VOL. 3, anyone can find a part of themselves in Novulent’s work. Safe to say, fans are anticipating what the rising shoegaze star has in store for the next steps of their evolution.

Novulent's new album VOL. 3 is out now via Capitol Records.