Known for Lover’s Rock and Cigarettes Out the Window, TV Girl has a criminally underrated discography. One of these gems is their album “Summers Over.” Like summer, the relationships explored in the albums are fleeting, creating feelings of comfort and sadness with each one. The sound of each song is unique, yet still captures the atmosphere of a warm, tropical summer, quickly escaping your grasp as the days move on. Jordana’s voice adds a heaviness to each song, as she explores the protagonist’s feelings of insecurity and dissatisfaction with herself and her relationships. This album is bittersweet and a wonderful listen.
song Analysis
Our album starts with its namesake, “Summers Over,” which centers around summer love and its inevitable end. Our singer Jordana recounts her fondness of the relationship and her final goodbyes with the repetition of the line “Good to meet you, nice to know you.” The present tense of this line, despite the relationship now being one of the past, shows her unwillingness to let go, yet still, she chooses to move on.
The tone of the album shifts with the second song, “Lo on the Hi-Way,” as our protagonist struggles with her unhappiness in her relationship and its dynamics. She repeats her frustrations with her partner, with the line “Give me gifts, then turn to steal.” Her love for her partner slowly fades as the song goes on, and each romantic action feels hollow despite its inherent romantic meaning.
The album’s third song continues with this theme as she talks about her departed love through a lens of reliance. Day and night, yin and yang, the ticket and the turnstile, each pointless without the other.
Our fourth song, “Sweet to Dream,” carries a somber atmosphere that continues for the rest of the album. This song focuses on the end of a party, disconnected from reality, and her wishes spilling out. She observes multiple people and her longing for someone to simply dream next to her.
Sung by TV Girl’s lead singer, Brad Petering, this song follows an “Ordinary Day.” It shows the short, fleeting moments of affection that we have become familiar with throughout the album but also speaks on the lasting love that exists. These two exist simultaneously to remind the singer, “It’s just an ordinary day.”
My favorite song, “Better in the Dark,” tells the story of a one-night stand. It explores the protagonist’s need for the “dark” to feel the love she desires. She emphasizes the fleeting feeling and insecurity within it as she relies on the relationship’s temporary nature. Whether it’s the dark or the drunkenness from a party, she knows that each will eventually wear off, and the party will end.
“The Party’s Not Over” features Jordana and Brad Petering, the only song in which they play prominent vocal roles. In contrast to “Better in the Dark,” each of our characters finds each other as the party; hence, their feelings for each other are not over. It’s a sweet conclusion to an album about fleeting love and wishes, with their love lasting as the sun rises and the morning approaches.
My thoughts
This album is a beautiful listen overall, perfectly encapsulating the feeling of fleeting happiness that summer brings. It explores relationships and the hurtful yet sweet moments that each can contain and is, in my opinion, one of the best representations of TV girl’s music. The album has a story to tell, and it is worth the time to listen to for yourself.
For the more technical side, check out this Her Campus article!
What’s an Album With No Skips, and Why Is It ‘Summer’s Over’?