The Ting Tings - We Started Something
Sometimes something really overrated comes along which everyone gets way too excited about. Think about any of England’s World Cup squad’s post 1990, National Socialism in Weimar Germany and every episode of Scrubs after Carla and Turk get married. We can now add the inexplicably successful Ting Tings to the list • as they are without a doubt one of the least talented bands to make it in 2008, or indeed any decade or year you care to mention.
Second track ‘That’s Not My Name’ sums the duo up perfectly. A ramshackle, shouty, cheerleader routine performed in front of beats so basic; if they came from your Gameboy you’d take a time machine back to 1989 for a refund. As nonsensical as it may sound it’s almost at times difficult to differentiate between the music of ‘We Started Nothing’ and that of the frankly monstrous, nay evil early naughties teen tag team Daphne and Celeste. Don’t believe me? Then listen to ‘Ooh Stick You’ and then play anything by the ‘Ting Tings’ straight after . . . you’ll be bent double over a sick bucket in seconds.
Opening number ‘Great DJ’ starts off well enough however, powering up like a sexy, broody Howling Bells effort. Sadly it doesn’t last because as soon as the easy on the eye Katie White starts meddling with her pesky vocals it turns on its head • morphing into some sort of rabidly repetitive girl band number.
It would be unfair to say that the duo are all bad however as this clearly isn’t the case. Production is slick, Katie’s voice will no doubt be palatable to some, and the all round upbeat nature of the band makes them difficult to completely dislike. One or two of the songs on here are even ok, namely ‘We Walk’ and ‘Traffic Light’. What does irritate is the sheer amount of unbelievably talented and utterly superior electro groups to go unnoticed alongside these two. How music so basic and largely forgettable could overtake peers who on every level surpass them is both surprising and worrying.
‘We Started Nothing’ has for some reason started something. And as the Ting Tings bandwagon shamelessly trundles across the world you can’t help but wish the album title was true to the point of being literal, because after listening to this rampantly sloppy excuse for electrto pop you’ll wish you’d never heard them let alone heard of them.