[CD Review] THE TING TINGS – Super Critical

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‏Some time has passed since The Ting Tings shot to fame with the incredibly catchy ‘That’s Not My Name’ bursting them into the stratosphere. Bouncing back from their second studio album, Sounds from Nowheresville – an album of inconsistent tracks, The Ting Tings are not quite ready to fade into obscurity just yet.

‏At first listen it is an album that is easy enough to discard and write off as being more of the same; albeit with a little more flow than the last album. It is an album though that just like a new pair of shoes needs a little wearing in and getting used to. The more you listen to each track the better it gets and it bodes more than one turn through. Even though they are not breaking any new ground they have regained their momentum and this short album rectifies past mistakes.

‏With this album they prove that they are able to produce fun, simple music that this album is much more consistent than the previous. At times it has a very retro disco feel but maintains that feel throughout.

‏’Super critical’ is a fun cheeky way to begin the album and is a simple, cute track that bodes well for an album opener. Album highlights, ‘Do It Again’ and ‘Wrong Club’ throw in some clever cuts and shiny production producing a great vibe. ‘Green Poison’ sounds like it belongs on a Prince album and does feel a little out of place with it’s ’80s guitars, probably one of the lesser successful songs of the record. ‘Wabi Sabi’ is a number that begs the question – what does this song mean? Even though it is interesting it is a little confusing and strange.

‏Whilst this album will not produce multi platinum singles it does prove that the band have regained some of their former gloss and hopefully will begin to regain audiences.

6/10
Reviewer: Amanda Starkey