TV Girl’s iconic indie debut album “French Exit” combines song samples from the 1960s, hypnotic pop, lo-fi and more. On June 17, 18 and 19 the band celebrated a unique milestone in its career, the three and a half year anniversary of the six and a half year anniversary of “French Exit” at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Added up, that is simply the 10th anniversary of the album. However, in true TV Girl fashion, the band insisted on the eccentric title.
“I just want to make this clear, we’re not doing a 10 year anniversary of anything...We’re not one of those bands who ran out of good ideas 10 years ago and just have to keep relying on our past glories because we have horrible gambling debts and have to pay the bills. That’s not us,” lead singer and founding member Brad Petering said.
To commemorate the album, TV Girl played “French Exit” in full, as well as some of the band’s hits from the 2016 album “Who Really Cares” and the 2021 collaboration EP “Summer’s Over” with artist Jordana Nye, known as Jordana. Throughout the performance, Petering reminisced about the humorous and heartbreaking stories behind the songs and their first tour for the French Exit album.
TV Girl was originally formed in 2010 by Petering and his friend Trung Ngo in San Diego, California, according to the San Diego Reader. In an interview with Synth History, Petering shared that they first gained attention when a single from their debut EP was featured as the Best
New Track on music publication Pitchfork. The song was titled “If You Want It,” and included a sample from the 1973 song “Hello It’s Me” by Todd Rundgren, according to Apple Music. The San Diego Reader reports that TV Girl continued to release singles and EPs, but Ngo eventually left the band. Drummer Jason Wyman joined the band, as well as keyboardist Wyatt Harmon. In 2014, TV Girl released its debut album “French Exit.” Since then, the band has released three LPs, including their newest album “Grapes Upon the Vine,” two collaboration albums and an outtakes album.
Jordana opened for the band with a set of released and unreleased songs, as well as songs from her album with TV Girl, “Summer’s Over.” Her candid songs about breakups and “delusional crushes” allowed her to connect with the audience, most of whom were teenagers. A highlight of her set was a cover of Coldplay’s “Sparks,” in which her wistful vocals complimented the song’s somber lyrics. She also joined TV Girl on stage for its set, playing guitar and adding backing vocals, as well as dancing on stage with Petering and singing during the songs from “Summer’s Over.”
TV Girl played the entirety of “French Exit,” including the hits “Birds Don’t Sing,” “Louise” and “The Blonde.” Petering shared some of the misadventures he had while making the album, including living in a studio apartment “infested with cockroaches” and smoking cigarettes with his landlady.
Another highlight of the set was the band’s performance of the hit song “Lover’s Rock,” which is a dreamy ballad that includes a string sample from “The Dance is Over” by The Shirelles, according to Genius.
The band performed for a crowd of dedicated fans at the Wiltern who could recognize each song within hearing a few seconds of the track. Most of the audience were teenagers, who make up the majority of TV Girls’ fans due to the rise in popularity of the band on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic. This level of popularity is new for the band, which has come a long way from performing for venues of 50 to 100 people, and in one instance two people, according to the interview with Synth History. When introducing the show, Petering explained the significance of the anniversary.
“It’s gonna be a very special night tonight folks, a hell of a show. We’re doing something very rare and special,” he said.
Los Angeles was just one stop on the anniversary tour, as the band played in New York on June 6 and will play in Chicago on August 2.