On the Ting Ting's debut LP We Started Nothing, Katie White (vocals guitar and bass drum) sings a Gwen Stefani-ish rant called "That's Not My Name," an ode to all the awkward kids ("I miss the catch if they throw me the ball / I'm the last chic up against the wall") who seem to go through life misunderstood, unrecognized and nameless. I don't have a crystal ball, but I'd put money on it that the exact opposite is going to happen to the U.K. band (i.e. their days of being faceless in a crowd are over!). The Ting Tings, made up of the duo of White and Jules De Martino (vocals, drums, electronics), have the right amount of pop pizzazz, snarky lyrics and just enough of a retro synth sound to ride the 1980s wave steadily up the charts. The album has already gone #1 in the U.K. and they should make some serious strides on our charts as well.
The album's opening track, "Great DJ," throws in a solid rock beat to anchor the pop leanings of the song. Feel free to bounce around while the pixie-ish White sings, "Folks got high at quarter to five / don't you feel you're growing up undone." Believe it or not, these two even turn a song called "Traffic Light" into a fun romp. The Ting Tings are at their best though when they add some attitude to their pop confections. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" is a stomping summer song that practically begs to have hordes of teenage girls and even their older sisters chanting out the windows of pink convertibles. Girl power at its finest and perhaps a sister song to other hard-charging diva songs like Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back" and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl." Another power song called "We Walk" shows that the band is more than just the sum of their pop parts. "Put us in the corner cause we're into ideas," squeals White and the seeds of a mini-revolution are sowed.
If a couple of the songs like so-so "Fruit Machine” and too busy "Impacilla Carpisung" don't hit the highs of some of their other tunes, The Ting Tings are still a power pop force to be reckoned with.
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