Super Critical

Super Critical was recorded in Ibiza and produced by former Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor.[3] 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.[4][5] The album was mixed at Avatar Studios in New York City.[5] The album was influenced by Madonna, the Beatles, Diana Ross, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Nile Rodgers and Blondie.[6]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	59/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Arts Desk	[9]
The Australian	[10]
The Observer	[11]
Q	[12]
Shields Gazette	6/10[13]
Sputnikmusic	3/5[14]
The Times	[15]
Uncut	6/10[16]
Virgin Media	[17]

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".[7] 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."[10] 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."[8]

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."[15] 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."[14] 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."[17]

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."[16] 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."[13] 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."[12] 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."[11] 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."[9]