Misplaced Pages

Sounds from Nowheresville
Studio album by the Ting Tings
Released	24 February 2012 (2012-02-24)
Recorded	2009–2011; Berlin, London, Murcia and Ibiza
Genre	Art pop
Length	34:00
Label	Columbia
Producer	Jules De Martino
The Ting Tings chronology
We Started Nothing (2008) Sounds from Nowheresville (2012) Super Critical (2014)
Singles from Sounds from Nowhereville
"Hands" Released: 27 October 2010 "Hang It Up" Released: 27 December 2011 "Hit Me Down Sonny" Released: 25 May 2012

Sounds from Nowheresville is the second studio album by English indie pop duo the Ting Tings, released on 24 February 2012 by Columbia Records. The album was released almost four years after the band's debut and went through various concepts during its recording.

Background, recording and release

Original 'Kunst' concept

In December 2008, the duo announced plans to write their second album in Paris and Berlin in 2009. The album was recorded over a period of eight months in the basement of an abandoned jazz club in the Friedrichshain area of Berlin. Jules De Martino stated that they chose Berlin "to have complete, crazy freedom", while Katie White also said that they wanted to "isolate themselves". According to De Martino: "We had to find a new challenge and going to hide away in Berlin was the perfect place because our friends aren't there, our families aren't there and our record company isn't there, so no one really bothered us. I think that if we'd have gone back to Manchester we'd have been a mess." It was reported that the band would collaborate with rapper Jay-Z on the new album. The duo were reportedly assisted by singer and labelmate Rihanna, who contributed vocals to a track.

The album featured a mix of styles, with the band aiming for a "playlist" feel. De Martino explained: "We wanted to make a record that had that much variety that if you played it you could almost shut your eyes and think: 'Is this the same band on each song?' We just had no fear and wanted to make a record that was like an MP3 compilation." De Martino cited Fleetwood Mac, the Pet Shop Boys and TLC as influences on the album. It was described by Clash writer April Welsh as "an album glistening with polished pop perfection. Ranging from acoustic folk to bangin' electro, R'n'B and, of course, rock and roll." The album was self-produced, with White explaining: "We're complete control freaks – I don't think we could work with anyone else. We'd have a heart attack if they changed one little beat."

In January 2010, it was reported that the album would be titled Kunst, which means "art" in German. De Martino explained that the name was taken from a massage parlour near their studio called Massage Kunst: "We took a picture of us standing outside it with Katie's arm up over the S and sent it to the label saying: 'Here's the front sleeve.' It didn't go down too well." The band later announced that Kunst had merely been a working title and that the final name was yet to be decided. They later joked that instead it would be called Cocks.

The sessions eventually produced the single "Hands" which was released in October 2010. Another song, "We're Not the Same" was used in a commercial for Tommy Hilfiger's Loud perfume and was released as a free download.

However, The duo ultimately cancelled the release of their second album in 2010 and erased previously recorded demos because they felt it sounded too similar to everything else on the radio. In an interview with Digital Spy, White said, "We were in Berlin where there is a great electro scene, and so we made songs like that, but quickly realised that everything on the radio was Euro-pop shite. We didn't want our record to be tarnished with that brush." De Martino continued, "We scrapped six of the ten songs, which upset quite a few people. We put out 'Hands', which was meant to be an underground, white label-only release and it ended up being playlisted on Radio 1—we were quite angry so erased over half the album." They also insisted that they "found feet" with their new album, adding, "No-one would give a shit if we'd made a shit Euro-pop song, even if it went top ten."

Sounds from Nowheresville concept

The band went to Spain and started over with writing and recording the album, this time citing Spice Girls and TLC as inspirations. Four tracks from the abortive Berlin sessions have been revived for the resulting concept.

The resulting album Sounds from Nowheresville was set to be released on 24 February 2012 and was preceded by the lead single "Hang It Up". The previously released songs, "Hands" and "We're Not the Same", were originally reported to appear on the album but were included as bonus tracks on the deluxe edition instead, the latter as a Japanese only bonus track.

A month ahead of the release the album was leaked online.

Sounds from Nowheresville debuted at number 23 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 6,246 copies.

Artwork

The band launched a contest called Show Us Yours, which gave artists and graphic designers the chance to create art and videos to show the band. One piece of art by artist Milan Abad showed both Katie White and Jules De Martino as skeletons, which caught the band's attention and ultimately became the album's artwork. White stated that other entries would be placed in the album insert.

Singles and promotion

The music video for the album's lead single, "Hang It Up", premiered on YouTube on 18 October 2011. "Hang It Up" was released digitally on 27 December 2011, the first song they had released since "Hands" in October 2010.

A music video for the Bag Raiders remix of "Silence" was directed by Dan Gable and filmed at Salford Lads Club in Manchester in July 2011. The video premiered on 21 November 2011.

The album's second official single, "Hit Me Down Sonny", was added to the BBC Radio 1 C List on 2 May 2012. A four-track EP with remixes for the single was released digitally on 25 May 2012. An accompanying video, consisting of live footage from a show in Paris, debuted on 3 August 2012.

A video for "Soul Killing" was filmed on 29 June 2012. On 13 July 2012, the duo stated on Twitter that they hoped the video would be released the following week, but this never materialised.

The Ting Tings also made videos for other songs from the album. A video for an acoustic rendition of "Day to Day" was uploaded to their YouTube channel on 14 March 2012. On 13 January 2012, the duo reported via Twitter that they were filming a video for "Help" in Manchester. However, the video was never released.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	52/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B−
The Daily Telegraph
Drowned in Sound	4/10
The Guardian
The Independent
NME	5/10
Pitchfork	1.8/10
PopMatters	4/10
Rolling Stone

Sounds from Nowheresville received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 52, based on 30 reviews. Andy Gill of The Independent praised the album as "a masterclass in modern pop creation, pinballing from style to style without endangering their essential 'TingTingness'". The Daily Telegraph's Andrew Perry wrote that the album "sounds anything but laboured", concluding, "Whatever the style, White and de Martino know how to knock a tune together and have delivered a pop party album thrillingly in tune with contemporary listening habits." Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen opined that on Sounds from Nowheresville, "the band again is at its best when White is proclaiming and dissing in a voice pitched somewhere between cheerleader, rapper and Tourette's sufferer." Heather Phares of AllMusic felt that the "scrappy pop of their first album is largely replaced by a glossy eclecticism that, for better or worse, feels labored over." Phares continued, "Sounds from Nowheresville shows that the Ting Tings have more range than their debut suggested, but while it's more ambitious and crafted, it's just not as coherent as We Started Nothing." The A.V. Club's Dan Weiss commented the album is "a blast when it's on and imminently forgettable when it's not".

In a review for NME, Fraser McAlpine dubbed the album a "lukewarm hotchpotch", adding that "he unfortunate irony is that Sounds From Nowheresville doesn't sound much like a grand rejection of pop music at all. It just sounds a little bereft of ideas, and way too short." Stephen Foster of PopMatters characterised the album as "sluggish, self-conscious, and seemingly deliberately bad", while noting that "he best Nowheresville has to offer is 'Hit Me Down Sonny', a band march of a song that offers up goofily incoherent lyrics but possess the energy and verve of the best work from We Started Nothing." Simon Jay Catling of Drowned in Sound expressed that "despite the fact that the production glitters with the high attention-seeking compression of pop music, any explorations haven't gone as far as finding any memorable hooks—and the ones which do stick in the mind do more so for their sheer irritable inanity", citing the songs "Silence", "One by One" and "In Your Life" as "decent moments". The Guardian's Alexis Petridis stated that Sounds from Nowheresville "keeps doing the things bands do when they don't really know what to do: concentrating on riffs instead of melodies, production dynamics instead of songs. The result is an album that sounds simultaneously hefty and vaporous." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine panned the album as "tuneless" and "inert", and found that its songs "aren't noteworthy in terms of content or construction, nor do they resolve into any kind of coherent aesthetic that would give context as to what it is the Ting Tings are really after." Pitchfork's Hari Ashurst felt that "he restless genre-hopping vibe makes this feel less like an album and more like a series of tracks written to briefs The only common thread is how uniformly bad everything is."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jules De Martino and Katie White

Personnel

The Ting Tings

• Katie White
• Jules De Martino

Additional musicians

• David Eggar – cello (track 10)
• Snowy (Chris Snow) – extra guitar (track 3)
• Bag Raiders – keyboards (track 11)
• Shook – keyboards (track 17)

Technical

• Jules De Martino – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 4, 5); engineering (tracks 2, 6, 8)
• Jeremy Wheatley – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 6–8)
• Snowy (Chris Snow) – mixing (tracks 3, 4, 10); engineering (tracks 3–5)
• Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 9, 13)
• Marcos Tovar – engineering (tracks 1, 7, 9, 10, 15)
• Mike Marsh – mastering (tracks 1–11, 13, 15, 17, 18)
• Graeme Durham – mastering (tracks 1–11, 13, 15, 17, 18)
• Nilesh Patel – mastering (tracks 1–11, 13, 15, 17, 18)
• Dave Turner – mastering (tracks 12, 14, 16, 19)
• Bag Raiders – remix, additional production (track 11)
• Inertia – remix (track 12)
• James Abacus – remix (track 14)
• Alex Vargas – remix (track 14)
• Calvin Harris – mixing (track 15)
• Andy Taylor – remix, additional production (track 16)
• Shook – remix, additional production (track 17)
• CKB – remix (track 19)

Artwork

• The Ting Tings – design
• Andy Hayes – design

Charts

Release history

References

1. Gill, Andy (2 March 2012). "The Ting Tings: "We don't keep songs for a rainy day"". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
2. "Ting Tings set to write new album in Paris". NME. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
3. "Ting Tings to do 'Berlin album'". Newsbeat. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
4. Murray, Robin (5 November 2010). "Ting Tings Talk Album No.2". Clash. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
5. ^ Smirke, Richard (25 October 2010). "The Ting Tings: "We've had loads of surreal moments"". The Big Issue in the North. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
6. ^ Bain, Becky (11 November 2010). "The Ting Tings on Freezing in Berlin, Loving TLC And Making A "Playlist Album"". Idolator. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
7. ^ Reilly, Dan (3 November 2010). "Ting Tings Bring 'Playlist' Feel to New Album – Exclusive Video". Spinner UK. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
8. Luerssen, John D. (11 November 2009). "Ting Tings to Team With Jay-Z". Spinner. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
9. Balls, David (7 January 2010). "Ting Tings 'to collaborate with Rihanna'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
10. Perry, Andrew (7 October 2010). "The day we began to crack up". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 30. ISSN 0307-1235.
11. Ramaswamy, Chitra (14 October 2010). "Tings ain't what they used to be". The Scotsman. p. 40. ISSN 0307-5850.
12. ^ Welsh, April (5 November 2010). "In The Works – The Ting Tings". Clash. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
13. Stickler, Jon (8 July 2010). "The Ting Tings Finish Work on Second Album". Stereoboard. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
14. Fullerton, Jamie (12 January 2010). "The Ting Tings name new album". NME. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
15. Balls, David (12 January 2010). "Tings Tings reveal new album title". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
16. Smirke, Richard (15 October 2010). "Ting Tings Stick to DIY Roots for 'Weird' Sophomore Set". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
17. "The Ting Tings – We're Not The Same TV Advert [Tommy Hilfiger]". 31 October 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2023 – via YouTube.
18. "Download a New Song From the Ting Tings, 'We're Not the Same'". vulture.com. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
19. Copsey, Robert (31 January 2012). "The Ting Tings: 'Scrapped album was s*** Euro-pop'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
20. Copsey, Robert (31 January 2012). "The Ting Tings interview: 'Spice Girls inspired new album'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
21. Lamont, Tom (29 January 2012). "The Ting Tings and that difficult second album". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
22. Michaels, Sean (24 January 2012). "The Ting Tings urge label to rush-release leaked album". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
23. Jones, Alan (5 March 2012). "Official Chart Analysis: Sande thrives in Scotland, Ed Sheeran album tops 1m sales in UK". Music Week. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
24. Kreps, Daniel (14 December 2011). "The Ting Tings on 'Nowheresville' LP's Haunting Artwork and Jukebox Sound". Spin. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
25. "The Ting Tings – Hang It Up". 18 October 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011 – via YouTube.
26. "Hang It Up – Single by The Ting Tings". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
27. ^ "The Ting Tings – "Silence (Bag Raiders Remix)"". MTV. Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
28. "Ting Tings workout with SLC Boxers". Salford Lads Club. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
29. "BBC Radio 1 playlist". BBC. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
30. "Hit Me Down Sonny (Remixes) – EP by The Ting Tings". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
31. "The Ting Tings – Hit Me Down Sonny (Live From Paris)". 3 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012 – via YouTube.
32. The Ting Tings (29 June 2012). "Soul Killing video... Mexicana v's Club tropicana!!!" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 May 2023 – via Twitter.
33. The Ting Tings (13 July 2012). "Soul killing vid is near. We hope to have it up early next week. On way to Austria. Pissing it down. J" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 May 2023 – via Twitter.
34. "The Ting Tings – Day To Day (Acoustic)". 14 March 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012 – via YouTube.
35. The Ting Tings (13 January 2012). "We are in Mancs today filming vid for 'Help' today using an iPhone 4s & a rotolite. My fav song on new album. J" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 May 2023 – via Twitter.
36. ^ "Sounds from Nowheresville by The Ting Tings Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
37. ^ Phares, Heather. "Sounds from Nowheresville – The Ting Tings". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
38. ^ Weiss, Dan (13 March 2012). "The Ting Tings: Sounds From Nowheresville". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
39. ^ Perry, Andrew (17 February 2012). "The Ting Tings, Sounds From Nowheresville, review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
40. ^ Catling, Simon Jay (28 February 2012). "The Ting Tings – Sounds From Nowheresville". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
41. ^ Petridis, Alexis (23 February 2012). "The Ting Tings: Sounds from Nowheresville – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
42. ^ Gill, Andy (24 February 2012). "Album: The Ting Tings, Sounds from Nowheresville (Columbia)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
43. ^ McAlpine, Fraser (24 February 2012). "The Ting Tings – 'Sounds From Nowheresville'". NME. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
44. ^ Ashurs, Hari (1 March 2012). "The Ting Tings: Sounds From Nowheresville". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
45. ^ Foster, Stephen (13 March 2012). "The Ting Tings: Sounds from Nowheresville". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
46. ^ Rosen, Jody (13 March 2012). "Sounds From Nowheresville". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
47. Keefe, Jonathan (12 March 2012). "Review: The Ting Tings, Sounds from Nowheresville". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
48. "Sounds from Nowheresville (Deluxe Edition) by The Ting Tings". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
49. "The Ting Tings – Sounds From Nowheresville". Discogs. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
50. "Chartifacts" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 1149. 5 March 2012. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
51. "Austriancharts.at – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
52. "Ultratop.be – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
53. "Ultratop.be – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
54. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
55. "Lescharts.com – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
56. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
57. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 9, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
58. サウンズ・フロム・ノーウェアズヴィル | ザ・ティン・ティンズ [Sounds from Nowheresville | The Ting Tings] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
59. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
60. "Spanishcharts.com – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
61. "Swisscharts.com – The Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
62. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
63. "The Ting Tings Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
64. "Sounds From Nowheresville – Ting Tings, The". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
65. "The Ting Tings – Sounds From Nowheresville" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
66. "Ting Tings – Sounds From Nowheresville". Tower Records Ireland. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
67. "Ting Tings: Sounds From Nowheresville". HMV. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
68. "Ting Tings – Sounds from Nowheresville". IBS.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
69. "Sounds From Nowheresville: The Ting Tings". United States: Amazon. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
70. ザ・ティン・ティンズ : サウンズ・フロム・ノーウェアズヴィル [The Ting Tings: Sounds From Nowheresville] (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

• 2012 albums
• Art pop albums
• Columbia Records albums
• The Ting Tings albums