With a slew of drum-and-guitar duos already dominating the indie rock scene it seems like there should be a new and improved musical configuration, you know something to shake up the old twosome paradigm.
A rocking tuba and flute pairing, anyone? French horn and a drum machine? Perhaps the resurgence of the always-entertaining one-man band? OK, maybe that’s a stretch, but when the debut effort from the much buzzed about UK sonic power couple the Ting Tings crossed my CD cluttered desk I was skeptical. “Uh oh,” was my instant reaction, fearing another prototypical DIY duo album relegated to the overpopulated terrible twosome reject pile–also known as the hand-me-down stack.
Fear not, my friends. The Ting Tings are so much more than a formulaic guy ‘n’ gal, skins-and-strings sonic tag team. On their brilliant effort We Started Nothing this Brit duo make delicious indie-pop that will make even the most jaded concert-goer or snobbish headphones hero crack a smile, toe tap and even do the hip shake shimmy to this naughty pop perfection. Whether it’s the effervescent single “Great DJ,” that combines frenetic tambourines, bratty “ah ah ahs” and the kind of technicolor sass and pizzazz found only in cartoons, or the anthemic pop-punk ditty “That’s Not My Name” which recalls the same infectious fever of cheerleader-friendly chant “Hey Mickey,” the Ting Tings are pretty much impossible to dislike. Their sound, much like their comic book-like onomonopeiatic moniker is like an aural Bif! Boom! Bang! loaded with subversive cotton candy-like saccharine pop but with a middle-finger-in-the-air rebellious spirit.
With refreshing optimism and a Blondie-like sweet-meets-tough aesthetic, the Ting Tings have obliterated the music pair stigma–for now.
