French Exit (album)

French Exit is the debut studio album by American indie pop band TV Girl. It was released on June 5, 2014 and follows the release of their first mixtape The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle and their third EP Lonely Women.^[1] The band describe the album's songs as "about lost lust, too much love and not enough."^[2]

French Exit
Studio album by TV Girl
Released	June 5, 2014 (2014-06-05)
Genre	Indie pop
Length	40:43
Label	Self-released
Producer	TV Girl
TV Girl chronology
Lonely Women (2013) French Exit (2014) Who Really Cares (2016)

The album cover is an edited photo taken from Mary Lee Gowland's 1969 poetry collection, Tender Bough. In the album’s liner notes, it is stated that the image was taken by Mary's father, Peter Gowland, and used as the album cover with her permission.^[2] The album received more popularity through TikTok,^[3][4] following the increase in usage of the album's ninth track, "Lovers Rock",^[5] which has over a billion streams on Spotify as of 2024.

Promotion

Tour

In March 2020, the band announced tour dates in support of the "six-and-a-half" year anniversary of French Exit, originally starting on April 23, 2020 and concluding on July 23, 2020,^[6][7] which would later be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8] The band announced new tour dates for the French Exit 6.5 Year Anniversary tour, with Jordana as an opening act for some shows. The tour started in September 22, 2021 and concluded in December 18, 2021.^[9]

Reception

French Exit was called "remarkably solid" by Bandwagon Magazine.^[10]

The album was also referred as "refreshing, relaxing, and cynical" by KSUA Radio.^[11] KRUI-FM described the album as one with "melodic hooks, prosaic lyrics, and innovative sampling".^[12]

Track listing

French Exit track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pantyhose"	2:57
2.	"Birds Don't Sing"	3:29
3.	"Louise"	3:14
4.	"Hate Yourself"	3:33
5.	"The Getaway"	3:44
6.	"Talk to Strangers"	2:57
7.	"The Blonde"	3:47
8.	"Daughter of a Cop"	2:33
9.	"Lovers Rock"	3:33
10.	"Her and Her Friend"	3:29
11.	"Come When You Call"	3:38
12.	"Anjela"	3:44
Total length:		40:43

All tracks are written by Brad Petering, except "Daughter of a Cop" co-written by Mat Cothran.

Japanese deluxe edition bonus tracks^[13]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Girls Like Me"	2:36
14.	"Misery" (from The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle)	2:37
15.	"I Wonder Who She’s Kissing Now" (from The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle)	2:46
16.	"All a Dream" (from The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle)	3:11
17.	"Melanie" (from Lonely Women)	4:38
Total length:		56:31

Sample credits

• "Birds Don't Sing" contains samples of "Seven Minutes in Heaven", performed by the Poni-Tails.
• "Lovers Rock" contains samples of "The Dance is Over", performed by the Shirelles.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of French Exit.^[14]

• Brad Petering – vocals, songwriting, recording, production, mixing
• Jason Wyman – recording, production, mixing, mastering
• Mat Cothran – songwriting (track 8)
• Dan Komin – bass and guitar (tracks 3 and 12)
• Faith Harding – backing vocals (tracks 2, 4-5, 8-9, 11)
• Trung Ngo – additional vocals (tracks 2 and 4)
• Ally Hasche – additional vocals (track 3)
• Wyatt Harmon – additional vocals (track 11)
• Madison Acid – artwork design
• Nathan Hoffeldt - engineering, mastering
• Peter Gowland – photography (used with permission from his daughter Mary Lee Gowland)

Charts

Chart performance for French Exit

Chart (2023–2024)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15]	19
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[16]	41

References

1. Pearis, Bill (June 6, 2014). "TV Girl released debut album, 'French Exit' (stream it)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
2. "French Exit | TV Girl". Bandcamp. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
3. "The Weeknd & Ariana Grande Hope for No. 1 With 'Die for You' Remix". Billboard. March 2, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
4. "TV Girl just wants you to vibe". The Daily Cardinal. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
5. "Review: TV Girl Celebrates 6-1/2 Years of French Exit". Third Coast Review. 29 October 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
6. Pearis, Bill (February 10, 2020). "TV Girl reissuing debut LP 'French Exit' on vinyl, playing it in full on tour". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
7. "Promotional Poster for French Exit 6.5 Year Anniversary Tour (circa 2020)". Retrieved October 2, 2023 – via Instagram.
8. "Obviously the decline of western civilization has put a damper on the much anticipated "French Exit" tour, which will not take place as scheduled. Trying to figure out a reschedule with more "official announcements" as they come in. Plz "bare with us" and take care". Retrieved October 2, 2023 – via Instagram.
9. "The tour is back on bb! Celebrating six-and-a-half beautiful years of French Exit all over these United States with the fabulous @jordananye opening and playing with the TV Girl Traveling All-Star Band! All previous tickets will be honored, which means a good deal of these shows are near sold out already. Run don't walk to secure your piece of history today! (Ticket links have been helpfully compiled over at our trusty tumblr: link in bio)". Retrieved October 2, 2023 – via Instagram.
10. Sheridan, Christopher (September 12, 2014). "Album Review: Tv Girl – French Exit". Bandwagon Magazine. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
11. "Album Review: French Exit". KSUA Radio. January 15, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
12. Moore, Grace (26 September 2018). "Innovation in an Undefinable Genre: TV Girl's "French Exit"". KRUI FM. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
13. "TV Girl − French Exit (2015, CD)". Discogs. 28 January 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
14. TV Girl (2014). French Exit (Media notes).
15. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 29, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
16. "2023 41-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.