Indie pop band, TV Girl, reflects on the past with their new album Fauxllennium, which they released with George Clanton on Dec. 2.
This album is on the shorter side, with only 7 songs. Despite only being 30 minutes long, the creators showed off their talent and skills by creating a whole new sound for the band. This album blends nostalgia with innovation- it creates a time capsule in a sense.
The album opens with “Summer 2000 Baby”, which was previously released as a single back in August. The arrangement of this song is cram packed with fun synth beats and random samples from underground artists. This specific song samples “Summer 2000” by the band X-Cetera, which infuses the chorus with a catchy melody that is great to sing along to.
I feel like this was the perfect album opener. Listening to it brings back memories of carefree summer days spent with my friends and family.
“Everything Blue” takes the album in a different direction, which makes it my favorite on the album. While the song is still upbeat, it’s softer, making it more relaxing. The tempo of the lyrics reminds me of “Taking What’s Not Yours”, one of the bands older songs. The faster rhythm introduces a hip-hop influence throughout the song. The best part of this song is definitely the guitar riff at 1:30 though.
The opening chords of the album’s title track sound like a dream. It gives such a majestic quality that it quickly catches your attention. This song perfectly combines both singers’ voices, while also adding fun samples and electric mixes randomly throughout the song.
One of the album’s highlights is “Butterflies” featuring Jordana. She has recently worked with the band, releasing the collaborative album “Summer’s Over”. Her feature added a new depth and energy to the album.
“Ya’ll wanna hear that beat, right?”
Halfway through the song it completely stops. Then there is a huge beat drop where the music speeds up and Jordana sings some impressive high notes.
“Take a trip” is a bittersweet reflection about memories. The second verse dives deeper into darker themes of drug addiction.
“You might say that you can’t feel it anymore, but you can always just pretend.”
This song, much like most of the band’s catalog, juxtaposes sensitive, meaningful topics inside of a fun melody. I didn’t even notice what the song was about until I looked up the lyrics.
I personally felt like “The Sweet Life” was the weakest track on the album. This song takes a turn, and it is jazzier than the others. I do like the beat drop of this song, but none of the lyrics really stand out to me.
“Time is more, it exists now, and then, and in the future.”
The album’s closer, “Yesterday’s World” perfectly ties together this new sound with familiar elements of older releases. I love the incorporation of vintage samples between each verse, specifically the radio sample from the 1950s program Dimension X. I thought this addition was very clever, tying into the album’s retro and futuristic theme.
While this has definitely not been my favorite release from the band, I thoroughly enjoyed the drastic change the band decided to make to evolve their sound. The band truly showed that they can experiment without losing the essence that defines their music.
This album will definitely show up on my Spotify Wrapped next year. I give Fauxllennium an 8/10 butterflies.
Stream Fauxllennium here:
