Sounds From Nowheresville by The Ting Tings
Sounds from Nowheresville is the second studio album by English duo The Ting Tings, released on 24 February 2012 by Columbia Records. The band released two songs from the album prior to its release, "Hang It Up" and "Silence". Although their 2010 single "Hands" was originally reported not to appear on the album, the duo confirmed on Twitter that it would appear on the deluxe edition of the album. The band revealed that they scrapped an entire album after "stumbl[ing] on this new sound" during a visit to Spain. 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. In January 2010, it was reported that The Ting Tings originally planned to name the album Kunst, which means "art" in German. "Just round the corner to our studio [in Berlin] there's a massage parlour, it's called Massage Kunst", De Martino explained. "It's Massage Art, basically. We took a picture of that and sent it to our label, saying this is the title of the album. They went berserk." The duo ultimately cancelled the release of their second album in 2010 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 [their] 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." The album was recorded in Berlin, London, Murcia and Ibiza.
The British dance duo of Jules de Martino and Katie White wander through the musical countryside nicking what they need with a casual authority that makes the outcome pleasurable and deliberately lightweight. "Silence" starts things; it's slightly hungover from the previous party. "Hang It Up" begins up with the opening flash of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" before reviving the awkward rock-rap category. "Guggenheim" furthers the rap influence with an insistence that the group will one day perform at the art museum. "In Your Life" turns in a nocturnal ballad that sounds like Nancy Sinatra discovering Tindersticks. The success of The Ting Tings' debut album left the duo skittish, trashing one album's worth of material for this one (the story's unclear of how much input the record company had in this decision). "Give It Back" ramps up the enthusiasm found in the infamous hit "That's Not My Name" from their debut album, <i>We Started Nothing</i>. This album's deluxe edition features demos, unreleased tracks, and remixes that double its playing time.
