Hometown exports TV Girl made the move to L.A. from San Diego to pursue their lo-fi pop careers but will return to their stomping grounds Thursday to play a show at Soda Bar with Tropical Popsicle, Clockart and Kynan.
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TV Girl were recently featured on a Knocsteady Podcast with a live video of them performing "I Wonder Who She's Kissing Now," the lead single off their upcoming full length. It's a midtempo funk song that glides along, equal parts chill wave and '80s dance. The release date is Feb. 16 and has been described as their "first major work," which is impressive,. considering the amount of buzz they received off a handful of Bandcamp releases this year.
In fact, it was a pretty eventful year for TV Girl, after gaining popularity for their breakout track, "If You Want It (You Got It)," which sampled Todd Rundgren's "Hello, It's Me." That move prompted Warner Music Group to issue takedown notices to blogs hosting the track for copyright infringement. The response to this was polarizing from the music community: Many were outraged by the label's attempt to "silence the track," despite the fact that the band never owned the rights to "Hello, It's Me." The argument continued -- the old music industry vs. the DIY ethos of blogs and artists. In one respect, big labels are seen as bullies, while artists are just being creative -- but the law is also necessary to protect intellectual property rites of all artists.
It seems that all this attention only served to help TV Girl, positioning them as representatives of the subculture of samplers/bedroom artists as a whole. Whether it was warranted, it certainly helped boost their recognition and didn't stop them from naming their next EP Benny and the Jets, a psychedelic effort that's more '60s soul than 2011 bedroom pop. This was then followed by their Girls Like Me 7-inch release, which dropped in September and was released via Small Plates Records.
TV Girl's highly anticipated full length will undoubtedly continue to push the boundaries both sonically and culturally, perhaps sparking interest from the very labels that slapped their wrist in the first place. Check them out Thursday with the excellent Tropical Popsicle (how fun is it to say that name?) at Soda Bar.
Nada Alic runs the San Diego-based music blog Friends With Both Arms.Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.
