LCD Soundsystem was dance-punk. When James Murphy retired the moniker in 2011, we were grieving not only the death of a legendary artist at its white-hot peak, but a genre as well.
Sounds From Nowheresville, the new record from The Ting Tings, is vapid indie rock at its worst. Despite passing catchiness, there is nothing extensive to linger on. Instead, the album reminds us why dance-punk went under after Murphy decided to stow away his cowbell, drumsticks and black stage tuxedo and call it a day.
Even worse than the silly homage are the lyrics, which resemble chants from an elementary school playground. “Lier lier jump in the fire,” shouts Katie White on “Hit Me Down Sonny,” with all the turbulent passion of an 8-year-old girl who just got her brand new Bratz doll thrown in the mud.
The low point comes with “Give It Back,” which attempts to painstakingly rewrite every aspect of LCD Soundsystem’s “North American Scum,” from the mid-tempo drumbeat to the handclaps to the crunchy guitars. It’s all there, just in less effective, cop-out form.
If there’s anything remotely forgivable about the album, it’s brevity. Clocking in at only 34 minutes, no sound comes across as too outlandishly irritating, even though the bearability factor is putridly low.
In fact, Sounds From Nowheresville is such an aptly fitting title, you can almost say the joke’s on us. Maybe The Ting Tings knew the record was terrible, and for the purpose of tongue-in-cheek laughs, decided to make that fact frighteningly obvious.
It’s not too far-fetched to say if the duo tried a little bit harder to craft an original sound and sing about something other than petty, childish problems, the record would be more immediate and likable. But for dance-punk fans, there’s no good way of coping with the genre’s current failures besides pouring yourself a glass of wine, popping This Is Happening onto your turntable and longing for the past. Present company excepted, shut up and let me go.
Verdict: You can do much, much better than listen to this vapid record by LCD Soundsystem wannabes.
