TV Girl

TV Girl is an American indie pop band from San Diego, California, consisting of lead vocalist Brad Petering, drummer Jason Wyman, and keyboardist Wyatt Harmon.

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 three collab albums: ''Maddie Acid's Purple Hearts Club Band'', ''Summer's Over'', and ''Fauxllennium'' in 2018, 2021, and 2024 respectively.

Starting in 2022, the band gained a following through the social media app TikTok. This led to a number of their songs, most notably "Lovers Rock", "Not Allowed", "cigarettes out the window", and "Taking What's Not Yours" entering the charts in multiple countries throughout 2023, years after their initial release.

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. The name of the band is taken from a song by Beat Happening. 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, leading to a takedown notice on the band, issued by Rhino Entertainment, who owns full rights to the Rundgren song.

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. At the time of release, Joel Williams had also joined the band.

In April 2012, TV Girl released the single "I Wonder Who She's Kissing Now", 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. The release would have constituted their debut album, but according to Petering and Ngo the work was more appropriately defined as a mixtape.

In 2013, they released the single "She Smokes in Bed", which would be part of TV Girl's third EP ''Lonely Women''. 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 (although Ngo would return to record backing vocals for French Exit songs "Birds Don't Sing" and "Hate Yourself"). Soon thereafter, Jason Wyman and Wyatt Harmon joined forces with Petering.

In 2014, TV Girl released their debut album, '' French Exit'', which was called "remarkably solid" by ''Bandwagon Magazine''.

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' 1960 single " The Dance Is Over". 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."

Musical style and songwriting

The band employs a genre not easily defined, with major inspiration from sampledelia, 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, due to their use of sampling, keyboards, and reverb effects. 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.

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. The subject matter of TV Girl songs is generally melancholic and sad, but simultaneously sarcastic and humorous. Some motifs in the band's lyrics include heartbreak, cynicism, memories, cigarettes, hair, sex, women's first names, suicide, 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.

Members

Current members

* Brad Petering – lead vocals, samples, production, occasional guitar (2010–present), bass (2010–2014)
* Wyatt Harmon – keyboards (2013–present)
* Jason Wyman – drums (2013–present)

Former members

* Trung Ngo – vocals, keyboards, guitar (2010–2013)
* Joel Williams – vocals (2010–2013)
* Dan Komin – bass, guitars (2013–2014)

Touring members

* Zoe Zeeman – bass (2022–present)
* Jordana Nye – bass, backing vocals (2021–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Collaborative albums

Demo albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted and certified songs

Produced albums

*'' Posthumous Release'' (2013) (by Coma Cinema)
*''Ace of Tre'' (2023) (by Varial Heel)

Notes

References

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Musical groups established in 2010
Indie pop groups from California
Musical groups from San Diego
2010 establishments in California