The Ting Tings

Much-hyped Manchester duo the Ting Tings have had a bit of an advantage over many new bands. As the musical act featured in the latest iPod commercial, there’s a level of expectation about the Ting Tings’ debut record. After all, most people have heard about 30 seconds of "Shut Up And Let Me Go” many, many times and think they know what to expect. It turns out that the iPod song is a fairly accurate indication of what the rest of We Started Nothing sounds like: shouted females vocals and catchy tunes with plenty of hooks, not unlike Bis. But it is also symptomatic of the band’s weakness, as there are times that the repetition is used to try and cover up a lack of ideas. That isn’t a huge problem on the shorter songs but when stretched out to over five minutes, it becomes an issue. The best moments are near-perfect summery pop songs that are fun and catchy but the rest of the album is utterly forgettable. Still, there’s enough good stuff to keep them in the spotlight until Apple decides who their next band du jour are.