When confronted with the difficulties of adult life, many find themselves yearning for their childhood. They focus on the blissful moments absent of responsibilities, like the seemingly endless summer days spent by the pool and chasing after ice cream trucks. Nostalgia for the late 1990s and early 2000s takes the forefront in Fauxllennium (a portmanteau of the adjective “faux” meaning artificial and “millennium” a period of 1000 years), the newest release from indie pop band TV Girl in collaboration with singer and electronic-musician George Clanton. Consisting of seven songs with a duration of only 27 minutes, TV Girl and George Clanton delivered an album free of excess, allowing listeners to experience it in totality without feeling exhausted. Some TV Girl fans have criticized the album for being too much of a departure from some of the band’s earlier work in albums like French Exit (2014), Who Really Cares? (2016) and Death of a Party Girl (2018). Though these criticisms have some validity, Fauxllennium offers an enjoyable listening experience filled with catchy instrumental backing tracks, diverse vocal performances by Clanton and TV Girl’s signature use of samples.
The album’s opener, “Summer 2000 Baby,” introduces the style and themes of Fauxllenium masterfully. To highlight the themes of childhood and nostalgia, the song samples vocals from pre-teen pop group X-Cetra’s song “Summer 2000.” The sample works wonderfully with a catchy piano riff and funky bass line, creating an atmosphere of pure bliss. The deep, echo-like effects on Clanton’s voice pair well with the backing track, providing a bit of contrast with the lighter and more upbeat aspects of the song’s sound.
In “Everything Blue,” the compression and reverb effects on Clanton’s vocals mimic the sounds of a man speaking through an old telephone. This vibe works well with the song’s lyrics which describe feeling out of place in life and wishing to return to a place of comfort. The ambient instrumentation creates a sense of mystery and isolation, adding to the themes of Clanton’s vocals. A sample of vocals from “Phenin” by Homicide (a small rapper from the 1980s) provides a catchy contrast to Clanton’s monotone vocals, while paying tribute to the influence of hip-hop in TV Girl’s production and sampling techniques. The specific portions of the sample also add to the themes of longing and confusion in “Everything Blue,” with Homicide rapping “Now I’m trapped in another dimension, another victim of the system with no escape.”
The album’s eponymous track “Fauxllennium” features similar compression effects on Clanton’s voice, but less reverb, evoking the sound of vocals from a garage rock band. A punchy synth bass line and drum beat masterfully work together to create a very catchy song. Additionally, the song features an unknown sample of dialogue from what sounds like a black-and-white film or television show. However, this song feels somewhat empty and simplistic compared to some of the other works featured on the album.
On “Butterflies,” Jordana delivers a beautiful vocal feature, likely satisfying fans of TV Girl and Jordana’s collaboration album Summer’s Over. “Butterflies” starts simple, featuring a slowed sample of piano from soul singer Shira Small’s song “Eternal Life.” In a blast of energy, the piano sample is sped up and combined with strong bass, drum and electronic instrument parts, creating what I would consider to be the best-produced track on the album. The song also features a fun false ending, with the beat being brought back after a sample from Public Enemy’s “Rebel Without a Pause.”
“Take a Trip” features breathy, deep vocals from Clanton and mellow piano that create a warm, yet relaxing listening experience. A funky drum line featuring bongos and a vocal sample from “Broward County Cops” by 80s/90s hip-hop group Young & Restless helps to enrich the song and provide energy to support Clanton’s airy voice. The album’s next track, “The Sweet Life,” features a similar vocal performance by Clanton and a different sample from “Broward County Cops.” However, the song’s mellow nature and similarity in atmosphere to “Take a Trip” makes it a fairly dull listen when experiencing the album from start to finish. The vocals and instrumentation of the song simply aren’t enjoyable or fresh enough for its position on the album.
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The album’s final track, “Yesterday’s World,” continues to build on the themes of childhood and the past while incorporating a number of interesting samples throughout. The title of the track and vocal samples of people singing “la” in the background are taken from a song of the same name by the 2000s psychedelic rock ensemble Circulatory System. Here, Clanton’s vocals are much more refreshing, featuring lyrics about wishing to travel back in time paired with a hypnotic sound that gives the song an alien-like quality. A drum beat, also featuring bongos, helps give “Yesterday’s World” an invigorating sound as well. The themes of wishing to go back in time are elevated by dialogue samples from the science fiction radio program Dimension X and season six of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ultimately, Fauxllennium definitely departs from the sounds and themes of TV Girl’s beloved past work. Despite this, the album still delivers a number of catchy songs with captivating production and vocals. Though I personally prefer the vocals of the solo work by TV Girl, I found myself satisfied with the quality of the collaboration with George Clanton and would not at all be opposed to hearing him feature on a future album with the band.
Matthew Rentezelas is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at [email protected].