Introduction
TV Girl is likely one of the most recognizable artists in the indie-pop space today. The band has been making music for a little over a decade, and their tenure in the music industry has attracted many onlookers and fans to their niche. The heavily sampled, sometimes distorted, and rock-infused sounds mixed with often scandalous lyrics makes for a unique listening experience. In 2024, TV Girl collaborated with artist George Clanton to create “Fauxllennium,” an LP that was interesting and different from other TV Girl releases. Recently, the “Japanese Deluxe Edition” was released, which added six new tracks and one remix.
The Album Itself
As mentioned above, the production of this album differs in a few ways from classic TV Girl production, likely due to George Clanton’s influence. “Summer 2000 Baby” features a more synth-wave production, and even vocalist Brad Petering of TV Girl changes his vocal inflections to almost screaming lyrics at times. Tracks such as “Everything Blue,” “Take a Trip,” and “I’m Not Real” use a more ethereal sound, something that can be credited to the vaporwave talent of George Clanton. These songs use more synth and distortion, making instrumental and vocal tracks more unintelligible and synchronizing. “Butterflies” and “Yr Not Invited” bring more upbeat, almost EDM-style tracks to the album. The contrast between the tracks that are intertwined helps build up the listening experience of the album as a whole. It brings you from highs to lows, and vice versa.
“It was a very unique album,” said Cyrus Lariz. “I haven’t listened to TV Girl before but I thought this was pretty good.”
The only miss on the album as a whole is the remix added on the deluxe version. “Summer 2000 (Fcukers Remix)” just feels like a good song was butchered for the sake of making a party song. Even if that was the intention, it was not executed in the best way, and feels wrong despite the presence of EDM tracks on the album.
“The only track I wasn’t a fan of was the remix track,” said Lariz. “It was like a really bad party song.”
The lyrics of “Fauxllennium” play on classic TV Girl tropes for lyrical content. Much of the album is focused on doomed romances and altered states of mind. The central theme seems to be about living in an illusion of romance and freedom, while being tied down to reality. Even the album’s title “Fauxllennium” roughly means fake substance or false time, depending on whether you consider the -ennium to be the root of millennium or the Latin element root -ium. The whole idea seems to be about illusion, or false perceptions.
Conclusion
“Fauxllennium” was a very strong LP, even before the deluxe was released. The deluxe adds some more interesting tracks, but mainly it continues the experimental and ethereal nature of the original seven tracks. It’s worth a listen for anyone interested in indie pop and experimental production styles.
