We Started Nothing is the debut album from The Ting Tings. Tipped in the top three of the BBC's Sound of 2008 poll at the beginning of the year, seemingly they have much to prove. However, The Ting Tings aren't about proving themselves; they are simply here to enjoy it. Making great British pop music - their way - is what they're about. Born of a desire to employ the DIY ethic from day one - Katie White and Jules De Martino escaped the industry trappings they once experienced in a previous band and went back to basics as a duo. They stripped back everything they thought they both knew about making music and the industry that revolved around every note.
We Started Nothing is a debut album brimming with intuitive pop noise. It's pure garage-pop and once heard will in-bed itself into your subconscious for many days, weeks, months to come. Snappy choruses trade off against angular gutar work, whip smart drumming and a succession of loops that they create live with the use of delay pedals.
The debut album by Salford's The Ting Tings comes hot on the heels of their No.1 single "That's Not My Name", a nugget of pop gold that comes on like a genetic splicing of Toni Basil's "Micky" and The Knack's "My Sharona". The bulk of We Started Nothing follows a similar formula, navigating a path between the smart, angular indie of CSS, Bonde Do Role, et al and the pop mainstream. Here and there, they pull it off perfectly: the stutter-rap of "Fruit Machine" sees vocalist Katie White leading on some poor sap with sultry charisma and lip-gloss sass, while the excellent "Shut Up and Let Me Go" is snappy dance-punk in the spirit of Blondie's "Rapture" or Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love". Elsewhere, they branch out with mixed results. "We Walk" builds from quiet flourishes of piano into a surprisingly steely manifesto: "Smash the rest up/Burn it down/Put us in the corner cause we're into ideas", sneers White. Rather less good is "Traffic Light", a light, jazzy number that employs a number of somewhat forced driving metaphors to describe a relationship hit the skids. Still, it's a debut with promise, and a string of good singles is nothing to be sniffed at. --Louis Pattison
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
They call me Stacey.:
What a breath of fresh air it was to listen to The Ting Tings debut cd. Reminding me of Blondie, The Go-Go's and The Waitresses, this English duo really brings the heat on their debut. What I'm talking about is the catchy, memorable beats, melodies and lyrics. From "Great DJ" to the super-infectious "That's Not My Name" and "Shut Up And Let Me Go", to the more straightforward pop of "Fruit Machine", "Traffic Light" to the electronic undertones of "Keep Your Head", "Be The One" and "We Walk" to the... more info
Indie Pop/Rock:
This is a energetic CD with a lot of creative lyrics and fast background music. I especially love listening to this CD while doing something creative. It really makes you happy as well because its so energetic. I also think this is great dance music. I cannot stop listening to it, its so unique!
Sassy and Smart Debut:
When I first heard a performance by this English duo on MTV's Palladia HD, I immediately thought wow, that's really catchy and different. Are they a one-hit wonder or do they have the talent to play with this unique, off-beat vibe in other ways? Turns out the latter, as evidence by this clunker-free album and the rapid assault onto the UK Singles Chart. I was concerned, actually, when I heard the opening riff on "That's Not My Name" because it sounded to me like a rehash of Toni Basil, which wouldn't... more info
Islands of awesomeness swimming in Eh:
I really wanted to love this whole album after dying for the singles (and the band's cover of Happy Birthday, present, of course, on the Yo Gabba Gabba soundtrack). Alas, I can't call this one a play-through.
