The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing

As much as the cool kids may hate to admit it, the people at Apple have an ear for good music. Meet the latest unknowns to enjoy the iPod ad super-bump: The Ting Tings. The British duo of Katie White and Jules De Martino bring their fresh take on pop with their upbeat debut album, We Started Nothing, and it plays as the spirited soundtrack to your summer from start to finish. While sometimes too cute for its own good, We Started Nothing is always catchy fun.

The Ting Tings are drawing inevitable comparisons to CSS, another international group that benefited from the Apple marketing juggernaut. While both bands share a knack for getting you on the dance floor, they go about it in opposite ways. CSS' grungier rock sound fits the badass image they wear so well—Cansei de Ser Sexy is sexy and they know it. On the other hand, The Ting Tings pull off a different kind of cool despite their poppy Kylie Minogue-meets-the-Spice Girls sound; they somehow make it work with songs about fruit machines and traffic lights.

White carries each of the ten tracks with spunk with De Martino on drums and back-up vocals. The first half is undoubtedly stronger than the second, including UK smash "That's Not My Name," "Shut Up and Let Me Go" from the iPod ad and their latest hit, "Great DJ." It also features the melodious "Traffic Light," a sweet waltz, and "Fruit Machine," where White playfully mimics the ka-chink ka-chink of the fruit machine she has become ("You keep playing me/ Like a fruit machine!").

Still, there is no filler as the second half features the pulsing "Impacilla Carpisung" (sung entirely not in English) and the funky "We Walk," where White shows her teeth: "Smash the rest up/ Burn it down/ Put us in the corner 'cause we’re into ideas."

It's no surprise that The Ting Tings are already chart-toppers across the pond. While their infectious tunes may be too sweet for some, We Started Nothing is a fun dose of dance pop that bounces delightfully along the whole way through. Catch The Ting Tings for cheap at a small venue this summer while you still can.

— Jessy Bartlett