The title of The Ting Tings' full-length debut, We
Started Nothing,
is appropriate for an album that cribs so liberally and unashamedly from other
genres, namely new wave, disco, and electroclash. But reconfiguring familiar
elements is nothing shameful when the result is a stellar, danceable pop song;
unfortunately, this English boy-girl duo only gets it right about half the
time. A handful of songs seem tailor-made for heavy rotation on dance floors
and in iPod ads—an honor the Chic-aping "Shut Up And Let Me Go" has
already attained—but just as often, the same formula curdles into bland
retreads, such as the instantly annoying title track. In the end, the fizzy,
herky-jerky delights of "Great DJ," "We Walk," and "That's Not My Name" make up
for the inoffensive nothingness of the album's weaker tracks. But the album's
inconsistency suggests that this heavily buzzing band—Nothing debuted at No. 1 in the
UK—could've used a little extra time to finesse its spazzy sound into a
more coherent pop treat.
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