The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing

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.