TV Girl

The first impression is deceptive. Cracks in the supposedly smooth facade can be clearly heard, and the lyrics are not as easy to digest as they might seem at first glance. A track from the latest record “Grapes Upon The Vine” says: “Most of us just won’t make it. Most of us just gotta fake it, but ninety’s close and ninety nine is almost true.” That is exactly the principle with which TV Girl works. Beneath the surface lies a dark heart that beats with sharp wit and cynical alienation, alienating everything and making the music all the more enticing.

TV Girl, consisting of singer Brad Petering, keyboardist Wyatt Harmon and drummer Jason Wyman, formed in 2010 to combine a love of Phil Spector-style girl group pop with a nascent interest in hip-hop. Their first full-length album, French Exit, was released in 2014 and received praise from critics for its electronic samples, light and airy guitars, whirring organs and ethereal vocals, making it popular with fans to this day. Even back then it was clear that TV Girl always plays with expectations and doesn't really fulfill any of them.

On their new album from last year, they expand their wild mix of lo-fi pop, gospel, house, funk and many other influences with groovy jazz to increase the height of the fall. Still, their sound is always fantastically beautiful and seriously fun. In August TV Girl will come to Berlin for a performance.