Local self-proclaimed “hypnotic pop” band TV Girl released a brand new EP with their current tour mate Jordana Nye entitled “Summer’s Over” on Oct. 13. A short collection of seven songs running a total of 21 minutes and 28 seconds, the album emulates TV Girl’s distinct indie roots and introduces a new sound with Nye’s angelic voice.
TV Girl’s music is unlike any other. The band originated in San Diego with Brad Petering, Jason Wyman and Wyatt Harmon. Their band does not actually have a woman in the lineup, which further emphasizes the meaning of their name; the idea of a TV Girl is referencing the ideal yet intangible woman. Most of their music is longing and cynical, often incorporating sound bites of women speaking from old films that effectively add to their tragically lovesick sound.
TV Girl’s first widely-released LP “French Exit,” released in mid-2014, did very well in the indie-music scene and is riddled with heartache, heartbreak and nostalgia for the “shimmery past of Hollywood glamour that it can’t quite reach” as described by Devorah Levy-Pearlman. Many of their songs also have an element of satire, and Interview Magazine’s John Taylor calls them “reliably modern and perhaps a bit too jaded.”
TV Girl has released three other studio albums — “Who Really Cares” in 2016, “Death of a Party Girl” in 2018 and “The Night In Question: French Exit Outtakes” in 2020 — a mixtape, three EPs and a handful of singles. They have also done a couple of one-off projects with Madison Acid in 2018 and BLOODbath64 in 2020, both of which are headed by Petering himself. Each of their albums clearly builds on their signature sound, and their most recent EP finally incorporates a woman’s voice as the main event.
Nye, more commonly known by her first name Jordana, is the main voice of the “Summer’s Over” album and a relatively newer artist of the bedroom pop genre. Her voice is soft and sweet, and each song is confessional and packed with honest emotion. She released her first LP in 2020 with Grand Jury Music entitled “Classical Notions of Happiness” after releasing it previously on her own. Following that album, in the same year, Nye released two EPs, “Something to Say” and “ … To You,” that were later combined into her second LP, “Something to Say to You.” “Summer’s Over” is Nye’s first collaborative album, which came just in time for her to tour with TV Girl, running from Oct. 28 of this year until Jan. 13 of next year. She is the opening act for each of their shows until Jan. 13, where she will perform solo at Mercury Lounge in New York.
The collaborative EP incorporates the sound of both artists in a complimentary way, sticking to TV Girl’s soothing, soporific sound and Nye’s ethereal voice and syrupy lyrics. The combination is something to be in awe of, and each song blends nicely together while having its own, unique sound.
“Summer’s Over,” the album’s title song, is the first on the album and is the most upbeat of the seven songs; however, its meaning is still nostalgic and bittersweet. It tells of a summer fling ending as the season does. Nye sings to an unnamed lover, wishing that their time together did not have to come to a close. A personal favorite on the album, this song exudes emotion that does not quite match the summery-joy of the sound.
The second song, “Lo on the Hi-Way,” gives off an almost country, folk vibe, different for both Nye and TV Girl. A twinge of California surf rock is to be detected in the music as well; while the song feels upbeat and fun, the lyrics are once again focused on love and sadness. Reflecting on a relationship ended, the lyrics are confused and desperate to find the reason the lovers are no longer together; the emotions in the song reflect on feeling deceived by the beauty of the relationship since it could not last.
“Jump the Turnstile” is the third track on the album, and the only one to dip into the hip-hop genre in terms of sound. The lyrics are the most ambiguous and do not give the “story” outright like some of the others do, although the song can be interpreted as another about love — a failing relationship and feeling lost in the world as the end is near.
Unsurprisingly, “Sweet to Dream” is the dreamiest of all the songs with Nye’s delicate voice over soft, celestial-sounding music. This song, still about love, is finally a happier one; it seems to describe the aftermath of a party and the drunken expression of love to a significant other in the midst of mess and chaos.
“Ordinary Day” evokes a sense of intense nostalgia, mostly in terms of the lyricism. The sound is very relaxed and almost ska-like, similar to No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” album. This song describes, just as it advertises, an ordinary day with people falling in love and living life. The perspective seems almost omniscient or separate from the rest of the world as they admire their surroundings in a melancholic, wistful way, seeming jaded by their own life experiences.
“Better in the Dark” brings the beat back up; however, the song itself is still kind of sad, describing a story of unrequited love. This song is utterly tragic yet so beautiful — the voice feels unfit to be with the one they love, wants badly to be recognized, yet knows that the two are not meant to be.
The final song on the album, “The Party’s Not Over,” is a perfect farewell duet to this collaborative EP between Nye and TV Girl. It describes the continuous nature of partying and the pressure to continue an endless cycle of drinking and mingling, constantly pretending to have fun, although this song could be certainly open to other interpretations. This is the most perfect fusion of the band and singer’s styles, sung by Petering and Nye together in gorgeous harmony.
This album is the perfect background soundtrack to simply living life. For anytime, anyday, anywhere, pop in some earbuds and press play on this beautiful, mesmerizing album and lose yourself within the sound. It is more than worth the listen.
Lillian Dunn is an Entertainment Contributing Writer for the fall 2021 quarter. She can be reached at lbdunn@uci.edu.