Darlings of the music press, a string of now legendary live performances under their belt and tipped by the BBC as the "sound of 2008" it's been quite a year for The Ting Tings.

Even without an album out, their shows have attracted the kind of "I was there" folklore that greeted the early performances of bands like Arcade Fire, so there's a lot riding on their debut, We Started Nothing.

The band may be just two people - Jules de Martino and frontwoman Katie White - but they sure pack a punch live. Question is will their infectious brand of fuzz guitar-driven power pop come across on record as well as it does live. There's no doubt that a huge part of The Ting Tings' appeal lies in the gusto White invests in every performance - utterly losing herself onstage, whirling around like a dervish, a spinning mass of limbs and blonde hair, thrashing away at a guitar, drum or whatever she can lay her hands on.

The album kicks off with Great DJ, the first single and classic… more »

Darlings of the music press, a string of now legendary live performances under their belt and tipped by the BBC as the "sound of 2008" it's been quite a year for The Ting Tings.

Even without an album out, their shows have attracted the kind of "I was there" folklore that greeted the early performances of bands like Arcade Fire, so there's a lot riding on their debut, We Started Nothing.

The band may be just two people - Jules de Martino and frontwoman Katie White - but they sure pack a punch live. Question is will their infectious brand of fuzz guitar-driven power pop come across on record as well as it does live. There's no doubt that a huge part of The Ting Tings' appeal lies in the gusto White invests in every performance - utterly losing herself onstage, whirling around like a dervish, a spinning mass of limbs and blonde hair, thrashing away at a guitar, drum or whatever she can lay her hands on.

The album kicks off with Great DJ, the first single and classic Ting Tings' fare. A driving drum beat, chopping guitar and White drawing the listener in with the mesmerising nursery-rhyme chorus: "Imagine all the girls, and the boys", interspersed with almost primal grunts and ending with the phrase, "the drums" repeated for what seems like an eternity.

It's an intriguing debut and establishes the Ting Ting's sound, lodging itself in your cranium and instantly recognisable within two seconds of the opening guitar chords when it comes on the radio. Now, that's classic pop.

As is track two, That's Not My Name, the forthcoming single, a slightly more complicated outing than DJ but no less infectious for that.

This time around White is frustrated by people - record companies, boys - forgetting what she is called and again the chorus, an almost yelping list of misnomers makes it another simple but effective pop song which is bound to be a hit.

The band have been compared to Blondie and the White Stripes, but their influences are far wider than both of those bands.

The thrashing guitar licks and vocal overload at times are reminiscent of 70s French punk rocker Plastic Bertrand and his UK hit Ca Plane Pour Moi.

But then Shut Up and Let Me Go comes on and its stomping disco bass-driven groove is akin to Chic's Le Freak.

If there's one thing that pulls the album together it's White's infectiously enthusiastic vocals, which light up every track.

Listen to her squealing "Ker-ching! Ker-ching!" during Fruit Machine - "You keep playing me like a fruit machine/putting in change systematically" - and I defy you not to be smitten.

In all, a great little pop album and the Beeb's prediction is on the money, they really are the next big Ting.