American indie pop band
TV Girl is an American indie pop band from San Diego, California, consisting of Brad Petering, Jason Wyman, and Wyatt Harmon.[2][3] As of 2023, the group is based in Los Angeles.[4]
The band released its first three EPs in 2010 and a mixtape in 2012. It followed this with its debut album, French Exit, in 2014. Their second album, Who Really Cares, was released in 2016, with further albums following in 2018 (Death of a Party Girl) and 2023 (Grapes Upon the Vine), alongside collaborative albums and EPs.
History
TV Girl was formed in San Diego in 2010, by friends Trung Ngo and Brad Petering as a leisure activity with no particular ambition other than experimenting and hanging out.[5] That same year, the band released their self-titled debut EP, which attracted attention when they sampled Todd Rundgren's 1973 solo version of "Hello It's Me" on their song "If You Want It" from the EP,[4][6] leading to a takedown notice on the band, issued by Rhino Entertainment, who owns full rights to the Rundgren song.[7]
In 2011, the band released their second EP of four tracks, Benny and the Jetts, along with a music video for "Baby You Were There" from the EP.[8] At the time of release, Joel Williams had also joined the band.[5]
In April 2012, TV Girl released the single "I Wonder Who She's Kissing Now",[9] which would be part of their first mixtape The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle, released a month later. The mixtape was given away for free with an accompanying downloadable coloring book.[10][11] The release would have constituted their debut album, but according to Petering and Ngo the work was more appropriately defined as a mixtape.[2]
In 2013, they released the single "She Smokes in Bed", which would be part of TV Girl's third EP Lonely Women.[12][13] That same year, TV Girl underwent a pivotal change when Ngo had left the band, leaving Petering as its sole member. Petering, formerly focused on beats, seamlessly embraced the role of primary vocalist following Ngo's departure. Soon thereafter, Jason Wyman and Wyatt Harmon joined forces with Petering.[5][14]
In 2014, TV Girl released their debut album French Exit, which was called "remarkably solid" by Bandwagon Magazine.[14]
In 2023, TV Girl's song "Blue Hair" from their 2018 album Death of a Party Girl went viral on TikTok.[15]
Artistry
Influences
TV Girl frequently samples songs and media from the 1960s in their music. An example of this is seen in the song "Lovers Rock", where the backing track is created from a looped sample of the intro to The Shirelles' single "The Dance is Over", which was originally released in 1960. In a post to Reddit, Petering writes he "..never gets tired of seeking out old and obscure music. I listen to lots of music and I find my loops and sounds that way."[16]
Musical style and songwriting
The band employs a genre not easily defined, with major inspiration from plunderphonics, indie pop, lo-fi and electronic music found in most of their works (apparent in albums French Exit, Who Really Cares, Death of a Party Girl and Summer's Over), while taking on more trip-hop-like elements in other works (found especially within Who Really Cares and Maddie Acid's Purple Hearts Club Band), and in some cases, more mainstream characteristics related to gospel, garage house, funk and even jazz (specific to Grapes Upon the Vine). Altogether, the band proclaims themself as a "hypnotic pop" group,[17] due to their use of sampling, keyboards, and reverb effects.[18][19] The band was upset when their music was labeled "sun-drenched California pop," pointing out that there are no lyrical allusions in their music that warrant the title.[2]
Lyrically, a majority of TV Girl's discography revolves around love and relationships. One example of this tendency is the song "Lovers Rock", a love ballad named after the reggae sub-genre of lovers' rock. Their subject matter is nostalgic and sad, but simultaneously sarcastic and humorous.[2] Some motifs in the band's lyrics include heartbreak, cynicism, memories, cigarettes, hair, sex, women's first names, and loneliness.
Branding
TV Girl's Album Art incorporates the colour blocking of images from the 1960s and 70s (such as The Classic Nude by George Hester for Who Really Cares). The use of vibrant colouring has become a key part of TV Girl's identity.
