The British music revolution continues. The debut album of The Ting Tings – Jules De Martino (drums, guitar, vocals) and Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass drum) – aided by coverage by UK mag NME, shot to the top of the UK charts. Keeping in line with today’s fascination for retro, The Ting Tings come off sounding like an Eighties new wave resurrection with their Number One single ”˜That’s Not My Name’ which sounds uncannily like Toni Basil’s ”˜Mickey’ while the breakup anthem ”˜Shut Up And Let Me Go’ with Debbie Harry singing “I ain’t freakin’/I ain’t fakin’ this/Shut up and let me go/Hey!” could easily have been mistaken for a Blondie track. The rest of the album continues in a similar vein, with some grating but addictive dance beats coupled with senseless lyrics (“Hold me nudge me spinnin’ me around/Where’s the money can’t hear that clinking sound?” on ”˜Fruit Machine’). There are a few stylistic variations on the unsuccessful lounge-y jazz-y ”˜Traffic Light’ or the more successful piano-driven ”˜We Walk’ but all in all We Started Nothing is no grand creative conception. Though it’s still one of those inexplicably addictive dance records that might somehow find itself on repeat on your music system.
