When I first heard “Shut Up and Let Me Go”, I figured the Ting Tings were a new incarnation of Chicks on Speed or [insert the name of any irreverent girl rock bands with short blonde hair]. When I found out “That’s Not My Name” was by the same band, it was only a matter of time before I purchased the album (well, I only do whole albums when I want to review them for the blog). Turns out it’s a chick and a dude. I can deal with that, but only because they’re British. And apparently, their name means “small, cute penis” (can you guess the language)!
The Ting Tings lead off with a familiar-sounding track called “Great DJ” (you may recognize it from the theatrical trailer of Slumdog Millionaire). The intro pivots between two very similar guitar chords, holding one of the notes from the first chord into the second chord and making a cool dissonance. The percussion comes in with a drum-set kick on every beat. The basic percussion, guitar, and monotone bass make this song sound slightly White Stripes (with a female lead vocal). I’m so used to the highly trained British/Aussie singers (the Beatles, the Minogues, Leona Lewis, etc.), so it’s weird to hear people singing with British accents. The listener is assaulted with a downright infections chorus (ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!) that s/he can almost immediately jump around and scream along to. While the verses are sonically sparse, the chorus comes in with lead guitar and full perc. We get great tambourine action, and the chord progression couldn’t be simpler. Similarly, a great DJ goes with what’s simple, and the crowd loves it. “Great DJ” really only lasts 2 verses, but with the catchiness of the lyrics and the live sound of the instrumental, that’s all we need.
“That’s Not My Name” starts out with a sort of whirling-rope sound followed by cool syncopated percussion. Wait, what is that leading in the entrance of the drums? I know a rock band (or “alternative” according to my iTunes) isn’t using a reversed cymbal! Who uses that outside of hip-hop! Katie White (the chick) is not what I’d call a strong singer (though she does have a distinctive sound), so it sounds weird when she sings the 2-note verse with a bit of vibrato. It seems to me that this could have easily been (rewritten as) a Fergie-like chant/rap, especially with the spare track that supports the verse (just a bass, light percussion, and a clap). Again, we have a ridiculously catchy chorus (the same spirit as "Hey Mickey" but a bit more rugged). What I love about the 2nd verse is that White sounds like she’s dancing/rocking out in the recording booth front of the mic. The second chorus adds a faint monotone counterpoint line from Jules de Martino (the dude). The bridge smoothes everything out, but it slowly brings the intensity back up and is layered over the chorus (Britney/N*Sync anyone?). Although the bridge fits well in contrast to the rest of the song, it’s layering over the chorus at the end makes it loose much of it’s Hey-Mickey dance appeal.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that a “Fruit Machine” is what we Americans call a slot machine. I’m definitely liking the African/Caribbean syncopation in the rock drums. The verse is a bit repetitious (16 verses of the same 2-bar tune/rhythm looped). We get a short instrumental interlude before diving right back into another verse. Luckily, the track really moves, and halfway through the second verse, there’s a chord change and a bit of variation towards the end. The good thing about these verses is that White gives us more attitude as the song goes on, and the repetition builds tension. The main guitar riff is sometimes doubled in an electronic beep that evokes a slot-machine sound. After a very wordy 2 verses, we get to a very simple “ka-ching ka-ching, boy” chorus that breaks the repetition of the verses and releases that built-up tension. The next verse is only 8 bars, and then it goes into a chorus followed by a sort of chant in harmony. It goes back into a chorus with a “go go” added with a chanty lead vocal. Then a guitar solo. Then another chant that builds up to 3 part harmony (but uses no new words, just a variation on rhythm). I love the irreverent format. The chorus acts more like an interlude between related parts to release tension than a traditional chorus.
Have I ever told you that I love the triple meter (counted in 3s instead of 4s). Especially when it features great syncopation in the snare like “Traffic Light” does. This is such a great song for White’s teasey, whispery, light voice. It’s a very different sound from the previous tracks: still a drum set, but the guitar is very muted in comparison to the chromatic line in the snapping-an-electronic-rubber-band sound. It’s one of those songs that doesn’t really have a chorus. Instead, it uses blues-like structure and repetition with a B section (sort of like a bridge) that repeats every so often. The end tag that comes in after the instrumental interlude is brilliant! Plucked strings! Vamping octaves! Drawn out lead vocals over quick background vocals (counterpoint!!)! I love it all.
“Shut Up and Let Me Go” starts out with a hard-hitting kick drum with a slowly building snare drum roll that leads into full on rhythm guitar and bass. I finally got the Fergie-like chant that I was waiting for in “That’s Not My Name”. The verse drops down to just the bass and light percussion with no snare. While the verse shows some lyrical cleverness, the pre-chorus is a bit disappointing, repeating one line 3 times. It’s an instrumental chorus that’s sandwiched by the first line of the verse and the last line of the pre-chorus, “shut up and let me go”. After the second verse and chorus, the drums turn more tribal and hard-hitting under the main guitar theme to make a sort of instrumental bridge. It’s another that’s catchy enough to use an irreverent format but still be licensed for an iPod commercial ($$$!).
The guitar playing open fifths gives the intro to “Keep Your Head” a distinctive sounding intro, leaving the chord incomplete. It’s weird: the vocals in this song have so much more energy than the instrumental. White is truly great at holding notes with no vibrato (hard to do without going sharp or flat). It’s kind of a cool song, but as a whole, it doesn’t do much for me in comparison to the previous ones.
“Be the One” starts out with what sounds like the percussion to another jump-and-shout song, but the guitar and keyboard mellow it out. This song distinguishes itself from the previous ones in that there’s an actual chord progression rather than a pivot between two chords. It feels a little more emotional than the others.
“We Walk” makes you cock an eyebrow with its lyrical piano intro, totally different from any of the previous tracks. I was totally disappointed with the electronic percussion (the kick sounds like midi from '82, and the snare sounds like someone flopping down on a bean bag that has a hole in it), especially since it’s under a very cool piano vamp. The verses lie somewhere between chant and melody, and the bridge reminds me a bit of Elton John’s piano work. There’s a cool building of sounds and counterpoint at the end of the track to keep it from being too repetitious (because the chorus is so simple). Aside: the smooth horn-like sounds that come in on the verses scared the first time I listened to this song me because I thought the train I was riding on was making it.
The way that the percussion in the intro for “Impacilla Carpisung” builds is kind of disorienting. The song has no discernable lyrics. The album insert says “Can you feel it, it’s all around”, but “feel” sounds a lot more like “hit” in this context. It’s a very cool instrumental with great layering and syncopation in the percussion. Billy Ocean comes to mind when I listen to this song, for some reason.
“We Started Nothing” feels very Lenny Kravitz but with a very mechanically sounding sample in the background that supports the live-sounding drums. White's faint head voice sounds like Mr. Hankie on this song. The words didn’t really speak to me at all (they seem kind of nihilist, which is so not my style), but it’s a fun song to swing your hair to, especially after the 2nd chorus when the instrumental is fully realized. But it’s basically 1-bar loop that repeats and builds, adding instruments and themes as the song goes along. The horns are great after the 3rd chorus, but the same guitar riff becomes a bit tiresome after the first 4 minutes. Honestly, I could live a happy and fulfilled life without the last two minutes of this track, but it does have the feel of a jam session, which can be a great way to end an album if your into it. We Started Nothing is the result of years of work from two musicians who were extremely frustrated with the workings of commercial music. They’ve definitely been around the block, and they carved out their place by doing what feels right to them. I have a ton of respect for that. They also know how to make fun, catchy songs (which is no easy task) by following the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). But at the same time, they often defy the stencils that shape pop music formats. Even their album insert rebels. They give you lyrics, but their hand-written (and at times very hard to read). The credits are literally both their names as the writers, de Martino’s name as the producer, and an acknowledgement of the mixer. But the insert stars out with a 6-page interview of the band. I haven’t read it yet (just the first page or two), but I’m sure it would definitely give me a different appreciation for each of the songs. And props to White for not being overly sexed up for the photos. Not even a hint of cleavage or midriff.
Suggested Tracks:
Great DJ
That’s Not My Name
Fruit Machine
Shut Up and Let Me Go
Maybe:
Traffic Light
We Walk
We Started Nothing
Check out my review of Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless here.
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