Which brings us to Ming & Ping: San Franciscan (by way of Hong Kong) twin brothers that make polished pop music that plinks and beeps just as well as anything that came from the 80’s. The group is keen enough to include some modern flourishes to keep the music fresh and current while maintaining that retro feel throughout. There are some tongue-in-cheek moments as well, such as the riff from the “Super Mario Bros.” hat opens “Concretelike,” or “Splendid” (I have to believe that the line about “jasmine in the morning” is too cliched not to be intentionally cheesy).
However, for as much as Ming & Ping display their love of synth-pop, their strongest moments on the CD come when they veer to the more contemporary sound of electro-clash (“Shenzhen Speed”, “(This Is) The Dream of Electric Sheep”). This could come in handy when the retro bubble eventually bursts and these brothers need a direction in which to focus their music.
Ultimately, this is one CD that can be judged by its cover: herein lies psuedo-80’s synth-pop, and just like the decade that they love so much, Ming & Ping offer plenty of style but little substance.