Super Critical
Studio album by
the Ting Tings
Released24 October 2014 (2014-10-24)
Recorded2012–2014, Ibiza and New York
StudioAvatar, New York City[1]
Genre
Length31:38
LabelFinca
ProducerAndy Taylor
The Ting Tings chronology
Sounds from Nowheresville
(2012)		 Super Critical
(2014)		 The Black Light
(2018)
Singles from Super Critical
  1. "Wrong Club"
    Released: 15 August 2014
  2. "Do It Again"
    Released: 22 September 2014

Super Critical is the third studio album by English indie pop duo the Ting Tings, released on 24 October 2014 by Finca Records.

Background and recording

Super Critical was written in Ibiza where the band became friends with former Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor.[2][1] The duo rented a rural estate in the village of Santa Gertrudis, where they started writing and recording, before moving to Sonic Vista Studios with Taylor.[3][4]

The album was recorded and mixed at Avatar Studios in New York City on all-analogue equipment.[4][1]

The album was influenced by Madonna, the Beatles, Diana Ross, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Nile Rodgers, Blondie and 10cc.[5][1]

Release and promotion

"Wrong Club" was released as the lead single from the album on 15 August 2014,[6] followed by "Do It Again" on 22 September 2014.[7] Both songs were accompanied by music videos.

Digital versions of the album were released in late 2014, while physical editions followed in early 2015.[8] A special version of the album with track by track commentary was released digitally alongside the regular one.[9]

In 2015 a special 12" vinyl with remixes of "Do It Again" and "Wrong Club" by the Spanish electronic musician BXY was released.[10][11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The Arts Desk[14]
The Australian[15]
The Observer[16]
Q[17]
Shields Gazette6/10[18]
Sputnikmusic3/5[19]
The Times[20]
Uncut6/10[21]
Virgin Media[22]

Super Critical received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 59, based on five reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[12] Tim McNamara of The Australian called album "assured, confident and cohesive" and praised it as a "fantastic, upbeat and dance-inducing fare, signalling the resurgence of an act that has bet everything on doing their third album their way, and are set to reap the rewards."[15] Fred Thomas of AllMusic wrote, "Though not quite as boisterous and immediate as their debut and nowhere as stylistically restless as Sounds from Nowheresville, the songs here slowly sink in and last a lot longer than anything else the band has done prior", yet concluded that "the maturation on Super Critical takes them out of the 'overbearing pop flash in the pan' category and suggests they may have even more interesting statements ahead of them."[13]

Ed Potton of The Times found Super Critical to be "breezier and more coherent [than Sounds from Nowheresville], sticking mainly to the kind of insouciant disco-funk-pop that [the Ting Tings] do so well."[20] Sputnikmusic's Raul Stanciu viewed the album as "a short and rather sweet effort that might not launch them to the top of the charts once again, but at least confirms us they're not yet ready to fade into obscurity", while commending The Ting Tings for "creating a consistent record that not only manages to mend the damage done by its faulty predecessor, but also create a coherent, fun atmosphere."[19] Virgin Media's Matthew Horton felt that "what Super Critical misses is one really great tune. The closest it comes is 'Green Poison''s soulful grind, strangely reminiscent of Stock Aitken & Waterman's 'Roadblock', yet no cigar. Otherwise this is just frothy fun, which is fine—but only fine."[22] Alex Lai of Contactmusic.com stated that "A return to the popularity that greeted their initial breakthrough isn't likely, but there's more than enough here to repair their reputation and ensure they shouldn't be seen as a flash-in-the-pan act."[23]

Stephen Dalton of Uncut wrote, "With echoes of prime-time Chic, Prince and Madonna, the intent is admirable even if too many of the songs feel flimsy and pedestrian", but described the songs "Communication" and "Failure" as "unabashedly gorgeous blasts of sugardipped synth-funk hedonism."[21] Despite stating that the album "actually isn't all that bad, and certainly marks an improvement on its disastrous predecessor, Songs from Nowheresville", the Shields Gazette commented that "there's here nothing which leaves any lasting impression."[18] Dorian Lynskey of Q magazine noted that Super Critical "sounds less petulant but no more likely to return [the duo] to the Top 10", adding that it "would be a solid album for someone like Annie, For The Ting Tings, though, it suggests there's no way back from Nowheresville."[17] The Observer's Killian Fox opined that the duo "can still write a catchy tune [...] but these songs are all surface, with only the odd hook to snag us."[16] Guy Oddy of The Arts Desk panned the album, dubbing it a "disappointment" and expressing that "it's not wholly clear whether the Ting Tings have become cultural commentators, like Negativland without samplers, and Super Critical is a prank about the vacuousness of so much chart pop, or whether they've committed commercial suicide."[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jules De Martino, Katie White and Andy Taylor

No.TitleLength
1."Super Critical"3:32
2."Daughter"3:15
3."Do It Again"3:52
4."Wrong Club"4:14
5."Wabi Sabi"3:31
6."Only Love"3:10
7."Communication"3:35
8."Green Poison"3:49
9."Failure"2:37
Total length:31:35
Japanese edition bonus tracks[24]
No.TitleLength
10."Wrong Club" (Club Mix by The Super Criticals)7:22
11."Do It Again" (Club Mix by The Super Criticals)4:08
2015 reissue edition bonus tracks[25]
No.TitleLength
10."Do It Again" (Acoustic)5:23
11."Wrong Club" (Acoustic)4:54

Charts

Chart performance for Super Critical
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 172
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] 100
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 111
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[29] 21

Release history

Release dates and formats for Super Critical
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref(s)
Australia 24 October 2014 Liberator [30][31]
Germany
[32][33]
Ireland Finca [34][35]
France 27 October 2014 Digital download [36]
United Kingdom
  • CD
  • digital download
 [37]

[38]

United States Digital download
  • PIAS
  • Finca
 [39]
Japan 29 October 2014
  • CD
  • digital download
 Sony [24][40]
France 3 November 2014 CD Finca [41]
Germany 21 November 2014 LP
  • PIAS
  • Finca
 [42]
France 24 November 2014 Finca [43]
United Kingdom [44]
United States 13 January 2015 CD
  • PIAS
  • Finca
 [45]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mettler, Mike (20 January 2015). "Slow down! The Ting Tings Katie White gets Super Critical about modern dance music". digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "The Ting Tings announce new album 'Super Critical'". NME. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 30 September 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Sweeney, Sabrina (22 October 2014). "The Ting Tings rediscover their disco roots". BBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 B., Claire (22 October 2014). "Interview: The Ting Tings". The Ibizan. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Walden, Eric (27 March 2015). "Concert preview: Ting Tings feeling a bit less 'Super Critical' now". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Wrong Club by The Ting Tings". 7digital. Ireland. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Do It Again by The Ting Tings". 7digital. Ireland. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Vicino, Stephen (21 October 2014). "THE TING TINGS PREPARE TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM 'SUPER CRITICAL'". musicexistence.com. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Super Critical (Track by Track Commentary)". amazon.com. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "FEATURE: MONO - CLAIRE DUPREE FINDS OUT WHAT IS SETTING THE NEWCASTLE LABEL APART FROM ITS PEERS". narcmagazine.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Spanish producer based in Ibiza and smashing it with The Ting Tings opens up his palate for LoveFoodIbiza…". lovefoodibiza.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Reviews for Super Critical by The Ting Tings". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  13. 1 2 Thomas, Fred. "Super Critical – The Ting Tings". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  14. 1 2 Oddy, Guy (13 October 2014). "CD: The Ting Tings – Super Critical". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  15. 1 2 McNamara, Tim (25 October 2014). "Reviews: Flight Facilities; Frank Yamma, Ting Tings; Peep Tempel; Song Fwaa". The Australian. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  16. 1 2 Fox, Killian (26 October 2014). "The Ting Tings: Super Critical review – catchy but superficial". The Observer. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  17. 1 2 Lynskey, Dorian (November 2014). "Q Review: New Albums". Q. No. 340. p. 118. ISSN 0955-4955.
  18. 1 2 "ALBUM REVIEW: The Ting Tings – Super Critical". Shields Gazette. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  19. 1 2 Stanciu, Raul (29 October 2014). "Review: The Ting Tings – Super Critical". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  20. 1 2 Potton, Ed (25 October 2014). "The Ting Tings: Super Critical". The Times. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  21. 1 2 Dalton, Stephen (December 2014). "New Albums". Uncut. No. 211. p. 81. ISSN 1368-0722.
  22. 1 2 Horton, Matthew. "The Ting Tings: Super Critical Album Review". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  23. ↑ Lai, Alex. "Review of Super Critical Album by The Ting Tings". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  24. 1 2 スーパー・クリティカル [Super Critical] (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "The Ting Tings – Super Critical". discogs.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Ting Tings – Super Critical" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  27. ↑ ザ・ティン・ティンズのアルバム売上ランキング [The Ting Tings album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  28. ↑ "CHART: CLUK Update 8.11.2014 (wk44)". Zobbel. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  29. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  30. ↑ "Super Critical". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  31. ↑ "Super Critical by The Ting Tings". iTunes Store. Australia. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  32. ↑ "Super Critical". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  33. ↑ "Super Critical [Explicit]: The Ting Tings: MP3-Downloads". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  34. ↑ "Ting Tings – Super Critical". Tower Records Ireland. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  35. ↑ "Super Critical (Explicit) by The Ting Tings". 7digital. Ireland. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  36. ↑ "Super Critical [Explicit]: The Ting Tings: Téléchargements MP3". Amazon (in French). France. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  37. ↑ "Super Critical". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  38. ↑ "Super Critical [Explicit]: The Ting Tings: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  39. ↑ "Super Critical: The Ting Tings: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  40. ↑ "スーパー・クリティカル (Japan Version): The Ting Tings: MP3 Downloads". Amazon (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  41. ↑ "Super Critical". Amazon (in French). France. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  42. ↑ "Super Critical [Vinyl LP]". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  43. ↑ "Super Critical (Album vinyle)". Amazon (in French). France. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  44. ↑ "Super Critical [VINYL]". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  45. ↑ "The Ting Tings Prepare To Release New Album 'Super Critical' Monday, October 27" (Press release). Mitch Schneider Organization. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
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