San Diego indie pop duo TV Girl (Trung Ngo and Brad Petering) first shot to modest fame in 2010, when a song from their self-titled EP, "If You Want It", gained substantial indie cred. Their unauthorized sampling of Todd Rundgren’s song “Hello It’s Me" eventually led to the track's removal from the internet, however. Fans can be thankful that TV Girl has since been careful to obtain permission for all the sampling they do, allowing them to continue to charm listeners with their refreshing juxtapositions of 90’s hip hop beats with modern psychedelic pop in their lush, nostalgic portraits of jaded modern young adults in love.
While Ngo left the band after the release of their first album French Exit (2014), Petering has been able to perpetuate the band's endearing aesthetic with the help of Jason Wyman and Wyatt Harmon. TV Girl's second album, Who Really Cares (2016) is thus described on the band's Bandcamp page in the following stanza:
'An album about Sex Or lack thereof And its consequences Or lack thereof'
"Cigarettes out the Window", which features Frankie Cosmos samples, creates a chillwave atmosphere to accompany Petering's intimate vocals as he walks a fine line between tenderness, sardonicism, humor and sympathy:
'My girl Liddy used to always smokeCigarettes when she couldn't sleepShe'd disappear for an hour and a halfAnd when she'd come back she'd brush her teethBut I could still smell it on her raggedy teeAnd I could taste it on her lips when we kissPoor little Liddy used to always quitBut she never really quitsShe'd just say she didMy girl Liddy used to always smokeCigarettes when she couldn't sleepI wonder what she did when she got doneI guess she'd just flick them out in the streetPoor little Liddy, she wishes it was darkBut it's never really dark in LAThe light from the billboard always shinesBut it changed twelve times since you went away'
Lyrics: Genius
