It's sometimes said that the best songs are the most simple ones - in that case, mark The Ting Tings down as exponents of one of the best albums of the year so far.
Salford duo Jules de Martino and Katie White's first joint musical outing was the Mercury Records-signed Dear Eskiimo - but their respective histories (White as a member of pop-girl group TKO, de Martino as singer of mid-'90s indie-rockers Mojo Pin) have collided to electrifying effect in The Ting Tings.
One of the most enjoyable factors of We Started Nothing is its consistency; all too often, pop records start well before slowing to a dreary mid-tempo within four or five tracks, but there's none of that here - well, at least not until the final triad, triggered by the unremarkable piano ballad-of-sorts We Walk.
Up until that point, it's a relentless barrage of electro-tinged pop rock that kicks off with the thrilling, pogo-riffic Great DJ, an unbearably catchy medley of simple-but-effective drums and guitars. The ubiquitous That's Not My Name is a deliciously repetitive, sloganeering gem, while Shut Up and Let Me Go's loose guitar swing and offhand attitude shakes things up nicely.
The Ting Tings aren't completely bound to youthful abandon, though: never mind iPod commercials, Traffic Light's dreamy Mary Poppins-style pop could easily soundtrack a Fairy Liquid ad, and Be the One is an altogether calmer, grown-up affair.
Short, sweet, and oh-so-stylish, this lot may not have started anything - but they're certainly continuing a tradition of top, top quality pop music.
