We Started Nothing - The Ting Tings

Having been there "at the beginning" (that is to say, turning up to a gig and wondering who the hell this man and woman were as a support act) perhaps it would be cool for me to proclaim just how great this album is. After all, that seems to be the considered opinion.

And yes, singles Great DJ and, especially, That's Not My Name certainly suggested that the passing of Jules De Martino and Katie White's former band Dear Eskimo may well have been a good thing. Of course, the cynics would suggest that the backlash against the music industry which has, in the end, proved more than adept at whipping up the Ting Tings hyperbole is already irrelevant.

Sadly, having heard the two singles in question, you have probably heard the best of what's on offer. On occasion, such as the insanely catchy Fruit Machine (which ironically was a much less publicised single) they threaten to really hit the heights, but rarely do they pull it off. As a throwaway summer pop album (and I don't mean that in a bad way) it's got more than enough to keep you entertained, but it does grow tiresome in parts and at the moment, anyway, isn't bearing up to repeat listens by this listener.

We Started Nothing may well be an ironic nod to the many influences on show; it also may prove to be The Ting Tings epitaph. They may have caught the zeitgeist, but whether or not they can capitalise on that in the long term is a question that the album doesn't answer satisfactorily. Will the rest of us care when the cool kids have decamped onto the "next big thing"? Only time will tell.