Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Music

All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000

Upcoming &
Recent Releases

sort by namesort by score

62 50 Cent
70 AFI
65 Air
70 Alice In Chains
53 Kris Allen
78 Amerie
79 Annie
76 Anti-Pop Consortium
86 The Antlers
75 Arctic Monkeys
68 As Tall As Lions
82 Atlas Sound
77 The Avett Brothers
67 Backstreet Boys
59 Bad Lieutenant
68 Devendra Banhart
71 Lou Barlow
88 Baroness
69 Basement Jaxx
81 David Bazan
72 Beak>
72 Brendan Benson
84 Biffy Clyro
72 The Big Pink
95 Big Star
46 Billy Talent
75 The Black Crowes
72 The Black Heart Procession
68 Blitzen Trapper
75 BLK JKS
53 Bon Jovi
76 A.A. Bondy
65 Boys Like Girls
76 Brand New
73 Tyondai Braxton
83 Brother Ali
72 Ian Brown
75 Michael Buble
77 Built To Spill
61 Colbie Caillat
78 Califone
69 Mariah Carey
81 Brandi Carlile
72 Julian Casablancas
83 Rosanne Cash
71 Castanets
65 The Cave Singers
82 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64 Exene Cervenka
79 Vic Chesnutt
75 Choir Of Young Believers
81 Circulatory System
67 The Clean
84 The Clientele
72 Cold Cave
85 Converge
71 Eric Copeland
76 The Cribs
79 Cymbals Eat Guitars
62 Dashboard Confessional
71 Datarock
59 Dead By Sunrise
76 Dead Man's Bones
77 Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
88 Destroyer
73 Do Make Say Think
63 The Dodos
77 Drive-By Truckers
67 Bob Dylan
58 Echo & The Bunnymen
61 Electric Six
44 The Entrance Band
69 Fanfarlo
71 Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63 Felix Da Housecat
68 Fink
66 Orenda Fink
79 The Flaming Lips
66 Flight Of The Conchords
79 Florence And The Machine
67 John Fogerty
83 Fuck Buttons
71 Nelly Furtado
47 Gary Go
68 Ghostface Killah
79 Girls
69 Gossip
62 David Gray
66 David Guetta
65 Calvin Harris
79 Richard Hawley
74 Mayer Hawthorne
66 Headlights
79 HEALTH
77 Joe Henry
67 Hockey
67 Whitney Houston
80 Hudson Mohawke
68 Imogen Heap
59 Jack Ingram
79 Islands
74 Jamie T
65 Jay-Z
51 Jet
68 Daniel Johnston
76 Norah Jones
77 Karen O And The Kids
72 Toby Keith
69 Kid Cudi
75 Kid Sister
66 Kings Of Convenience
62 Sean Kingston
64 KISS
63 Mark Knopfler
73 Kris Kristofferson
68 KRS-One & Buckshot
76 La Roux
85 Miranda Lambert
72 Ledisi
71 Sondre Lerche
56 Juliette Lewis
62 Leona Lewis
82 Lightning Bolt
74 Little Dragon
44 Pixie Lott
83 Patty Loveless
73 Lyle Lovett
79 Lucero
75 Baaba Maal
77 Madness
84 Madonna
85 Manic Street Preachers
61 Maps
73 Mario
55 Massive Attack
57 Matisyahu
62 John Mayer
67 Reba McEntire
66 Tim McGraw
65 Brian McKnight
79 Mew
75 Mika
68 Amy Millan
76 Mission Of Burma
75 Molina And Johnson
80 Monsters Of Folk
66 Morrissey
85 Mount Eerie
76 The Mountain Goats
62 Múm
72 Muse
66 Willie Nelson
82 Nirvana
96 Nirvana
80 No Age
71 Noah And The Whale
75 Noisettes
79 Nudge
64 OneRepublic
47 Dolores O'Riordan
74 Os Mutantes
78 Osso
67 Alec Ounsworth
81 Owen
73 Paramore
78 Pastels And Tenniscoats
54 Sean Paul
80 Pearl Jam
69 Jemina Pearl
72 Jack Penate
65 Phish
82 Pissed Jeans
61 Pitbull
79 A Place To Bury Strangers
79 Polvo
72 Porcupine Tree
72 Port O'Brien
79 Q-Tip
79 R.E.M.
88 Raekwon
69 Rain Machine
70 Ramona Falls
75 Dizzee Rascal
74 The Raveonettes
79 Real Estate
76 Jay Reatard
81 Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78 Russian Circles
69 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78 Say Anything
61 Sally Shapiro
78 Shudder To Think
70 Simian Mobile Disco
58 Simple Minds
72 Six Organs Of Admittance
80 Slayer
61 The Slits
77 Speech Debelle
58 Spiral Stairs
55 Steel Panther
75 Sufjan Stevens
52 Rod Stewart
68 Joss Stone
83 Barbra Streisand
77 A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74 Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79 The Swell Season
80 David Sylvian
83 Taken By Trees
80 Tegan And Sara
68 The Temper Trap
78 The Dutchess & The Duke
71 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74 Them Crooked Vultures
72 Themselves
82 They Might Be Giants
66 J Tillman
69 Times New Viking
57 Tokio Hotel
67 Trey Songz
73 Frank Turner
71 The Twilight Sad
60 Carrie Underwood
56 The Used
68 Various Artists
69 Various Artists
77 The Very Best
70 Kurt Vile
65 Vivian Girls
71 Volcano Choir
73 Rufus Wainwright
78 Wale
57 Weezer
81 White Denim
76 Why?
83 Wild Beasts
80 Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69 Robbie Williams
59 Andrew W.K.
65 Wolfmother
84 The xx
79 Yo La Tengo
83 Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52 Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59 Zero 7

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

We Started Nothing

EMAILPRINTby The Ting Tings

The Ting Tings reviews
64
7.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 55 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Columbia/Red Ink

Release Date: 03 June 2008

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Rock, Pop

Summary

The single "Shut Up and Let Me Go" from the debut album for the British duo was used in an Apple commercial.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83

Entertainment Weekly

We Started Nothing comes packed with a peppy parade of songs likewise steeped in electro beats and chant-along vocals.

Read Full Review >
80

Mojo

The singles--'Fruit Machine,' 'Great DJ' amd the electro Krautrock of 'That's Not My Name'--are supported by the equally impressive 'Shut Up and Let Me Go' and closing title track, all bouncing beats, shiny samples and an invigorating knack for a pop tune. {june 2008, p.109]

80

Observer Music Monthly

The synth-punk shout-pop of this boy/girl duo was cobbled together in a Salford arts complex for a budget of zero pence. And--in a totally great way--it sounds like it.

Read Full Review >
80

Dot Music

We Started Nothing sounds exuberant and chiefly concerned with pleasing itself. Which--as is always the way--only makes it more pleasing to others.

Read Full Review >
72

Filter

Every song on this record pulsates with so many heart-thumping beats per minute, you'd think this was some newfangled cardiovascular exercise for ravers. [Spring 2008, p.99]

70

The New York Times

The Ting Tings are crafty, not naive, but they can fabricate elation.

Read Full Review >
70

Rolling Stone

On their full-length debut, the Ting Tings craft peppy New Wave that's relentlessly catchy.

Read Full Review >
67

The Onion (A.V. Club)

the album's inconsistency suggests that this heavily buzzing band--Nothing debuted at No. 1 in the UK--could've used a little extra time to finesse its spazzy sound into a more coherent pop treat.

Read Full Review >
65

Prefix Magazine

As a four-track EP, this would have made for an indelibly catchy collection; as an album, it plays like four lone meatballs awash in a pot of bland noodles.

Read Full Review >
60

Blender

A party band to the core, the Ting Tings can't leave the dance floor without stumbling. [July 2008, p.76]

Read Full Review >
60

PopMatters

What the Ting Tings do is make sunny, punchy pop songs, and what’s more, that’s something that actually do pretty well. How much lifespan there is in the project, however, is another question entirely.

Read Full Review >
60

Q Magazine

The creative tension between the two is their main strength. It's when one or the other gains the upper hand that things can go awry. [June 2008, p.143]

60

New Musical Express

De Martino and White are on an unashamed mission to make perfect pop, but seem to have treaded the path too literally.

Read Full Review >
60

The Guardian

But after achieving a perfect strike rate on their singles, the Ting Tings' admirable quest for glossy, depthless pop perfection keeps coming up short.

Read Full Review >
50

Drowned In Sound

These glimpses of something unexpected are few and far between, much of We Started Nothing tonally muddled into a weird new form of MOR: cool for five minutes amongst the fashionable crowd but unlikely to reach audiences beyond those fascinated with the hot and happening.

Read Full Review >
50

All Music Guide

They're a singles band at heart, though, and they wear out their welcome all too quickly on We Started Nothing.

Read Full Review >
40

Uncut

Sadly, though, nothing on The Ting Tings debut album quite lives up to that promise [of 'That's Not My Name']. [June 2008, p.94]

40

musicOMH.com

Snark aside, it's a shame that aside from a couple of notable exceptions, the album title is just about right.

Read Full Review >
38

Pitchfork

Maybe once the Ting Tings stop trying so hard to convince everyone they're having a good time and start actually having a good time, these cute little ballads will no longer be their sole redeeming quality.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 55 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Joe H gave it an8:
A good album let down bya couple of tracks. Odd that no one else can hear a little pixies, breeders in there. Must just be me

Cristobal G. gave it a9:
Really great, fun, with an incredible production...It's probably the only truly pop album I've listened to this year, and I simply loved it since the very first time I gave it a spin...there's something about this duo that makes them really special, it might sound subjective, but I'd say it's charisma. Anyway, get this one ASAP, but be careful, it won't leave your stereo as soon as you might think.

zach p. gave it an8:
This record is one of the most fun pop debuts in years. no, not every song is great. but it's so refreshing to hear a band not take themselves seriously. keep your head; shut up and let me go; that's not my name.

Julia A. gave it an8:
Not really original (We Walk somehow reminds me of Franz Ferdinand's Take Me out), but still fun to be heard. Maybe Katie got her voice slightly off on some tracks (like Keep Your Head and Be The One), but still this is an album you don't really feel guilty when decided to buy or try to give a spin.

J eJesus gave it a5:
Sounds like a band writing songs specifically to be used in iPod commercials. A couple of decent tracks, the rest are kinda throwaway. I give it a resounding "meh".

Bradley M gave it a9:
A breath of fresh air in the somewhat stale halls of indie pop misic. Catchy, fun and memorable

Felipe P gave it a0:
Don't Believe the Hype! This album is horrible, just 3 songs listenable. One more hit wonders.

Read more user comments >

Popular on CBS sites: SEC Football | NFL | Video Game Cheats | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | Notebooks | Antivirus Software

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use