TV Girl

TV Girl performing in 2017.

## Members

**Current members:*** Brad Petering
* Jason Wyman
* Wyatt Harmon

**Past members:*** Trung Ngo
* Joel Williams
* Dan Komin

**TV Girl** is a Los Angeles-based American indie pop band, currently consisting of Brad Petering, Jason Wyman, and Wyatt Harmon. The band was originally founded in 2010 at San Diego, California. Their music is mainly described as indie pop, sometimes "hypnotic pop", or something “you can sing along to, but wouldn’t sing around your parents”.

The band received popularity around 2021, and is currently most known for their first 2 studio albums, *French Exit* and *Who Really Cares*.

## History

### 2010-2013: Early beginnings, *Our First 2 EPs*, *Blurry Girls*, *The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle*, and *Lonely Women*

> *Main articles: TV Girl (EP), Benny and the Jetts (EP), Blurry Girls, The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle, and Lonely Women*
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In the early years of TV Girl, Trung Ngo would be one of the lead singers of the band and 3 extended plays, 1 mixtape, and 3 singles were released. The band released their self-titled debut extended play in 2010, which included one of their songs, "If You Want It", which eventually became popular. The song was then taken down by Warner Music Group due to its heavy sampling. In 2011, the song was removed from the band's Bandcamp page.

In the same year, the band released another EP, *Benny and the Jetts*, which includes songs as "Benny and the Jetts" and "Your Own Religion". In May of 2012, their debut full-length mixtape, *The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle*, was released with a downloadable activity book. The mixtape would have been their debut studio album, but the band felt that the term "mixtape" sounded appropriate. Singles such as "Girls Like Me", "Diet-Coke", and "Average Guy (Blame)" were also released at the time.

Vanstravaganza 2012, was a fund to get the band their first touring van. One of the "prizes" for donation would be "unreleased demos". Those "unreleased demos" ended up being *Blurry Girls*, their first compilation album, which consisted of unreleased songs and demos. Though it had been considered a "lost album" for a huge amount of time, the entire album was found a decade later.

Their second compilation album, *Our First 2 EPs*, is a reissue of their first 2 extended plays, including the removed track from their debut extended play in the download. After their compilation release, their third extended play, *Lonely Women*, was released in 2013 and was written, recorded, and produced entirely by the band. The EP was also released on streaming platforms, but didn't get as much attention until about 2014.

### 2014-2017: *French Exit*, *Our First 3 EPs*, and *Who Really Cares*

> *Main articles: French Exit, Our First 3 EPs, and Who Really Cares*
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In 2014, the band's debut studio album *French Exit* was released, which began a new era for the band. The album contains "12 songs about lost lust, too much love and not enough". It received positive reviews, some calling it "remarkably solid" and "one of the most focused indie-pop albums of the [2010s]". The album received popularity a few years later, as well as their succeeding album, *Who Really Cares*.

A compilation/reissue of the band's first 3 extended plays, *Our First 3 EPs*, was released in 2015, and also included the "Girls Like Me" 7" single and three demos. This would be their final compilation album featuring past projects. The band released "Natalie Wood" in 2015, which includes two songs that were recorded but excluded from their second studio album, *Who Really Cares*.

In 2016, their second studio album *Who Really Cares* was released on February 2016. It is "an album about sex, or lack thereof, and its consequences, or lack thereof" and contains 10 tracks, and contains songs like "Taking What's Not Yours", "Song About Me", and "For You" which eventually would become hit songs a few years later. The album also received popularity and positive reviews and is often referred as the band's "best album".

### 2018-2020: 2 new collaborative albums, *Death of a Party Girl*, postponed tour, and fourth extended play

> *Main articles: Maddie Acid's Purple Hearts Club Band, Death of a Party Girl (album), French Exit 6.5 Year Anniversary Tour, The Night in Question: French Exit Outtakes, Aestheticadelica*
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In 2018, TV Girl released a collaborative album with Madison Acid, *Maddie Acid's Purple Hearts Club Band*. On May 8 of the same year, *Death of a Party Girl*, TV Girl's third studio album, was released and includes songs like "Blue Hair" and "Cynical One", both of which were promoted in music videos.

In 2020, the band announced that they would be going on tour in support of the "6-and-a-half year anniversary" of *French Exit*. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour dates were later postponed to later dates. On May 1, 2020, the band released their fourth extended play, *The Night in Question: French Exit Outtakes*, which features songs recorded during the *French Exit* sessions that did not make it into the final release of the album. On August 13, 2020, Aestheticadelica was released and is a collaborative album by BLOODbath64 and TV Girl, then announcing 2 months later that cassettes for the album would be available to purchase.

### 2021-present: New tour dates, TikTok virality, *Summer's Over*, Euro Tour, and *Grapes Upon the Vine*

> *Main articles: French Exit 6.5 Year Anniversary Tour, Virality of TV Girl, Summer's Over (EP), Euro Tour, Untitled Euro tour, Grapes Upon the Vine (album)*
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After the pandemic was partially over, in 2021, the band announced new tour dates for the French Exit 6.5 Year Anniversary Tour. In the same year, Brad Petering, lead singer of the band, acknowledged the positive impact TikTok has had on the band itself, and in particular, their album *French Exit.* Songs recorded by TV Girl would also go viral on TikTok in 2021, mainly "Not Allowed", "Cigarettes out the Window", and "Lovers Rock", but other songs including "Birds Don't Sing", "The Blonde", and "Blue Hair" would have some recognition.

On October 13, 2021, the band had announced that a collaborative EP with the band and American musician Jordana, titled as *Summer's Over*, was to be released, and a month later announced that vinyls of the EP were available to purchase.

During 2022, the band were touring throughout Europe. They are currently touring in the same continent again.

On May 16, 2023, the band announced that they would release a new album and announced tour dates in support. The album was then released on June 30, 2023, titled *Grapes Upon the Vine*, which introduces gospel music into the band. The album received mixed/average reviews.

As of 2023, the group are now based in Los Angeles, California.[*citation needed*]

## 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."

### Musical style and songwriting

TV Girl is generally regarded as indie pop, or sometimes as hypnotic pop. Similarly to trip hop, the band blends elements of hip hop and electronic music. This is due to their use of sampling, keyboards, and reverb effects. The duo was upset when their music was labeled "sundrenched 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 could be the song “Lover's Rock”, a love ballad named after the reggae sub-genre of lover's rock. Their subject matter is nostalgic and sad, but simultaneously sarcastic and humorous. Some motifs in the band's lyrics include women, heartbreak, cynicism, memories, cigarettes, hair, women's first names (Louise, Anjela, Valerie, etc.), and loneliness.

### Branding

The band primarily uses the Gotham font (Bold or Ultra), with permission from font creators, for most of their branding. The font is usually seen/used on their past album covers, vinyl records, trademark logo, t-shirts, tour posters, and liner notes.

## Discography

> *Main article: TV Girl discography and List of songs recorded by TV Girl*
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### Studio albums

* *French Exit* (2014)
* *Who Really Cares* (2016)
* *Death of a Party Girl* (2018)
* *Grapes Upon the Vine* (2023)

## Concert tours

* French Exit 6.5 Year Anniversary Tour
* Isles Tour 2022
* Euro Tour
* Untitled Euro tour
* Untitled US tour

## References

1. ↑ TV Girl EP | TV Girl via Bandcamp | Wayback Machine (November 2, 2010).
2. ↑ TV Girl EP | TV Girl via Bandcamp | Wayback Machine (July 26, 2011).
3. ↑ Album Review: Tv Girl – French Exit (September 12, 2014).
4. ↑ TV Girl's album 'French Exit' bears test of time, inspiring modern DIY artists (March 8, 2022).
5. ↑ Friends! Gather around for I have wonderful news! The acclaimed “TV Girl Traveling All-Star Band” is “taking the show on the road” this year in support of our forthcoming album “Grapes Upon The Vine,” An album which will be coming out, oh I don’t know, some time between now and then I suppose. You heard it here first! Don’t “get caught with your trousers down” and miss your chance to secure a coveted ticket. (!) Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 AM, and all relevant links have been helpfully wrangled together, just follow the “link in bio”! (May 16, 2023).
6. ↑ Alright little kiddies. “Grapes Upon the Vine” the CONTROVERSIAL new album by beloved Indie Rock combo “TV Girl” is available to listen to on your preferred device. Do you DARE listen to the record that shook the unflappable “stan army” to its very core???? (June 30, 2023).

 MIXTAPES
 EPs
 COLLAB. ALBUMS
 COMP. ALBUMS
 TOURS AND SHOWS