Music news

• The Arcs: Yours, Dreamily review – Black Keys frontman bares his soul

  03-09-2015 22:20
  
  (Nonesuch Records)Dan Auerbach’s “new” group isn’t new at all. A collection of longtime “musical compadres”, the Black Keys frontman has worked with the Arcs when he produced Dr John and Lana Del Rey, and there’s a familial feel to this album. Auerbach has talked about how this isn’t a solo project, and indeed, unlike his bonafide solo effort Keep It Hid (2009), Yours, Dreamily moves away from bluesy rock’n’roll. In fact, soul is the ge
  
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• Blank Realm: No Illegals in Heaven review – jangly Aussie dreampop

  03-09-2015 22:05
  
  (Fire Records) Aussie quartet Blank Realm describe themselves as “occult boogie woogie”, which is to say that their dreampop has the kind of jingle-jangle melodies that would have made winkle-pickers shuffle at a Camden indie disco circa 2006. Beyond lyrics about the “caverns of your mind” and candles in windows, they’re light on mysticism, but clearly the band worships at the altar of reverb – to the point that you imagine they all have bowl cuts and hail fro
  
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• Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats: The Night Creeper review – taut and dynamic

  03-09-2015 21:40
  
  (Rise Above Records)Goodness knows what prompted them to call themselves Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – a name that makes them sound like Dr and the Medics’ less funny cousins – because there’s nothing comedic about this Cambridge stoner/doom/psych quartet. They do nothing new, endlessly trying to pinpoint the moment in time at which the darker end of psychedelia toppled over into proto-metal – you’ve barely begun playing the album before the words “Blac
  
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• Readers recommend: songs about dogs | Peter Kimpton

  03-09-2015 21:01
  
  Wild wolves to whippets, fleet foxes to patient pointers, fluffy, ferocious or faithful, give your canon of canine songs a walk - it’s time they had their dayWoof! Their eyes roll, they wag and wriggle, they have expressive eyebrows and massive mouths. They run, jump, lie down, roll and sniff everything in sight. Their primary aim is to make us feel wanted and good about ourselves. What’s not to like? Well, they can be, messy, dribbly, a bit barking and smell like an old rug when wet
  
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• Five Finger Death Punch: Got Your Six – focused and ferocious

  03-09-2015 21:00
  
  (Prospect Park)Living proof that nailing the basics is the smartest way to ensure success in the metal world, Five Finger Death Punch have toiled remorselessly to earn their status as arena headliners. In keeping with their unassailable reputation as guardians of heavy music’s finest meat and potatoes, Got Your Six offers little in the way of creative curveballs and is unlikely to win over anyone that hasn’t already succumbed to the band’s gruff charms, but when it comes t
  
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• Oh Wonder: Oh Wonder review – a breathy synthpop debut

  03-09-2015 20:44
  
  (Caroline International) The Wedding Present may seem an unlikely influence for softly-softly electropop duo Oh Wonder. But Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West have followed the indie band’s example, releasing a song per month for a year – though, true to the times, they opted for Soundcloud uploads rather than the Wedding Present’s seven-inch singles in 1992. The results make up this debut, which may sound familiar not only because you could have already heard 13 of its 15
  
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• Bieber bests One Direction's Spotify record with new single

  03-09-2015 20:27
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Bieber is marking a comeback: The singer set a new record on Spotify, besting One Direction.
  
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• StubHub Finds Customers Buy Fewer Tickets When Shown the Actual Price

  03-09-2015 20:19
  
  It’s the most common complaint among ticket buyers: hidden fees, surcharges, and other tack-ons that dramatically change the listed price of ticket.  So why aren’t ticket providers doing more to provide transparent, ‘all-in-one’ pricing that displays the final cost, upfront?
  Because it doesn’t work.  In fact, it turns out that people actually buy less when presented with the actual prices.
  Offering proof of that is StubHub, one of the largest ticketing pr
  
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• MTV Video Music Awards criticized for glorifying marijuana

  03-09-2015 20:19
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — An organization that ran anti-cigarette smoking ads during the Video Music Awards has complained to MTV's parent company about the program's multiple references to marijuana and said it sent the wrong message to young viewers.
  
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• Ryn Weaver: The Fool review – a diverse debut of subtle strangeness

  03-09-2015 20:15
  
  (Virgin)Ryn Weaver can, at times, sound like an artist undergoing an identity crisis. The Argentina-born singer’s debut album swings from indie folktronica (New Constellations) to EDM-fuelled stomp-pop (Pierre) to the gentle hip-hop leanings of early Lana Del Rey (Stay Low). Her brilliant 2014 viral hit OctaHate managed to do all of these things in three and a half minutes. At times, as on Free, there’s a danger of things crossing into the formulaic big-pop sound the Mumfords have sp
  
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• Dam-Funk: Invite the Light review – a funk odyssey

  03-09-2015 20:15
  
  (Stones Throw Records)On Junie’s Transmission, the opening track of Dam Funk’s third album, P Funk legend Junie Morrison describes how “the upheaval suffered by the human race” began when society removed “the funk”. It sets out the general mission of this slightly flabby, 20-track odyssey: to revive classic funk, while abolishing the comedy stereotypes – think Jheri curls and Cameo codpieces – that have been affiliated with the genre. Narcotic dizz
  
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• John Jones: Never Stop Moving review – energetic album from Oysterband singer

  03-09-2015 20:00
  
  (Westpark) Best known as the singer with folk-rockers Oysterband, John Jones also has a solo career, and has become known for his “walking tours” across Britain, playing in festivals or pubs and always arriving on foot. The (mostly) self-written songs on his second solo album are influenced, he says, both by his travels and “my own story, having been diagnosed with colon cancer”. But this is not an album of sad or bitter songs. He’s in powerful voice, is helped by a
  
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• Cécile McLorin Salvant: For One to Love review – more like heightened music-theatre than jazz

  03-09-2015 20:00
  
  (Mack Avenue)At only 25, this half-Haitian, half-Guadeloupean vocalist is winning every jazz award going, despite rejecting the usual tricks of the jazz virtuoso. On her second LP, there’s no scatting or replicating horn solos. This is more like heightened music-theatre, enunciated with authority and polished with elaborate sonic costume changes. Salvant can warble in French and growl her way through old blues belters, but she’s even better at recasting standards. On Wives and L
  
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• Jon Cleary: GoGo Juice review – impressive musicianship

  03-09-2015 19:45
  
  (FHQ Records)Jon Cleary is a singer and pianist from rural Kent who relocated to New Orleans at the age of 17 and ended up becoming one of the finest exponents of that city’s myriad musical forms. For many Americans, watching this white Englishman ripping up the music of Professor Longhair and James Booker live is like watching a dog walk on its hind legs. And, rather like a dog walking on its hind legs, it’s a less impressive feat on record. Cleary is a walking inventory of N’
  
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• Heavenly records at 25: ‘There was never a plan … it was all about what was happening tonight’

  03-09-2015 19:44
  
  From Manic Street Preachers to the Chemical Brothers, some of the UK’s best acts have passed through the doors of Heavenly records. As it hits 25, Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and head honcho Jeff Barrett explain how the label pulled it offAnyone who has ever spent time with independent label Heavenly and its roster might wonder how it ever made it to a 25th anniversary. Don’t take that as a criticism of their output – for the past two and a half decades, Heavenly has put out a st
  
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• Loyle Carner shares his family strife to create awkwardly confessional hip-hop

  03-09-2015 19:38
  
  After the death of his stepfather, this south London rapper had to step up around the house. But was filming videos in the kitchen part of the plan? Call Ben Coyle-Larner a mama’s boy and he probably wouldn’t take offence. The 20-year-old rapper stands in his dining room, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of his mother, Jean. BBC 6 Music crackles over the radio. Two guitars lean against a vinyl-stuffed bookcase, and a colourful array of trinkets – hen-shaped egg cups, minia
  
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• Fenella Humphreys: Bach 2 the Future CD review – companion commissions rise to the challenge

  03-09-2015 19:30
  
  Fenella Humphreys
  (Champs Hill)
  Look past the cheesy title and you find an intriguing project by violinist Fenella Humphreys, who is commissioning new British companion pieces to Bach’s six iconic sonatas and partitas. Here she performs the first three commissions, alongside a spirited yet unhurried account of Bach’s E major Partita. Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s Suite No 1 is a vibrant response to that work, circling around it and expanding upon some of its gestures with a light yet i
  
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• Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Segal: Musique de Nuit review – uncanny skills of talented duo

  03-09-2015 19:30
  
  (No Format!)There’s a distant rumble of traffic, a reminder that much of the album was recorded on the roof of Ballaké Sissoko’s home in Bamako, Mali. The celebrated kora player leads off with a tranquil, gently rippling solo, but then a cello eases in, effortlessly taking the lead before letting the kora dominate again as the improvisation speeds up. Five years on from their debut set, Chamber Music, Sissoko and Vincent Segal have teamed up again, the latter an adventuro
  
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• Dan Auerbach fronts new band The Arcs for diverse sound

  03-09-2015 19:28
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Black Keys singer-guitarist-producer Dan Auerbach brought together studio musicians with diverse backgrounds in rock, soul, Latin and country for his new band, The Arcs.
  
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• Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus feud: Wendy Williams 'disappointed' in Anaconda rapper for MTV VMAs comment

  03-09-2015 19:20
  
  Daytime TV talkshow host Wendy Williams has weighed in on the unexpected feud between Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus, admitting she is "disappointed" in the Anaconda rapper for calling the pop star a "b***h" at the MTV Video Music Awards 2015. Minaj, 32, shocked the audience while accepting her best hip hop video award when she slammed Cyrus, 22, in a verbal attack. The rapper was furious that the Wrecking Ball singer commented on her previous feud with singer Taylor Swift in an interview.
  
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• Schubert: Goethe Lieder CD review – assured delivery holds the attention throughout

  03-09-2015 19:15
  
  Mauro Peter/Helmut Deutsch
  (Sony Classical)In signing the young Swiss tenor Mauro Peter, Sony probably has an eye to his starrier labelmate – and yes, he and Jonas Kaufmann have a lot in common. Peter’s voice is beefy, gleaming yet burnished – not a million miles from the young Kaufmann’s, though Peter’s comfort zone lies a notch higher. Like Kaufmann before him, Peter is based at the star-nurturing Zurich Opera and is mentored by the pianist Helmut Deutsch, a livel
  
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• Lizz Wright: Freedom & Surrender review – honeyed jazz vocals

  03-09-2015 19:15
  
  (Concord)Georgia-born singer Lizz Wright’s last few projects have seen her trying out interesting musical costumes. The Orchard (2008) was a folk-jazz session featuring Calexico, while Fellowship (2010) explored pulpit-hot southern gospel. Her fifth LP sees her back in that safe zone between smooth jazz and quiet-storm soul, with signings including Norah Jones sidekick Jesse Harris and country-rock kingpin JD Souther. Amid the slick, midtempo soul workouts, there are some sublime moments.
  
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• From Voodoo Ray to Infinity and beyond – the story of the UK's biggest rave anthems

  03-09-2015 19:03
  
  Together acts such as Baby D and A Guy Called Gerald created tracks that defined a scene and a generation. But what happened to them after the party ended?The homegrown stars of acid house looked as if they were going to be around for years to come – they’d reshaped British pop, turning the charts different colours by bringing the sounds of Chicago and Detroit to the UK. But it didn’t work out like that: the names that peppered the top 40 as house spread its tentacles across mu
  
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• Debussy: Early Piano Works CD review – the real star is the piano

  03-09-2015 19:00
  
  Hubert Rutkowski
  (Piano Classics)The real star here is the piano on which Hubert Rutkowski has recorded these early pieces by Debussy. It’s a superbly maintained 1880 Érard, the model that was generally used for recitals in France at that time, and which was standard issue at the Paris Conservatoire when Debussy was studying there between 1872 and 1884. This, then, is precisely the instrument with which Debussy grew up, and began to imagine his utterly distinctive sound world for th
  
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• OMG - Tom Hardy Responds To Bond Rumours!

  03-09-2015 18:49
  
  Tom Hardy opens up to MTV about the rumours that he will take over from Daniel Craig as the next James Bond!
  
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• Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie Chats New Music, Reading Festival And His Adorable Dogs

  03-09-2015 17:32
  
  We chatted to the frontman backstage at Reading Festival...
  
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• RIP Chavril! Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger Split

  03-09-2015 17:19
  
  Not another break up!
  
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• Cheryl Fernandez Versini Wants Body Shaming To Be Made Illegal

  03-09-2015 16:39
  
  The X Factor judge wants to help others in her situation.
  
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• MTV Hangs Out With WWE's Finest At WWE 2K16 Party In New York!

  03-09-2015 16:27
  ...
  
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• New Friends! Geordie Shore Cast Party With RuPaul's The Vivienne At Charity Do

  03-09-2015 15:50
  
  Charlotte, Holly and Kyle hit the toon with drag queen The Vivienne to support the Jeans For Genes bash...
  
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• The Weeknd, James Bay & The Chemical Brothers Join Apple Music Festival Line-Up

  03-09-2015 15:26
  
  September has never looked better.
  
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• Is Miley Cyrus MASTURBATING In Her New Interview Magazine Shoot?!

  03-09-2015 15:16
  
  Our MTV VMA host has her hands in her pants for the raunchy Mert Alas snaps…
  
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• MTV VMAs 2015: Justin Bieber 'overwhelmed' by fans' support

  03-09-2015 14:20
  
  The Never Say Never pop star explained why he welled up on stage at the MTV ceremony.
  
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• McBusted's Tom Fletcher & Wife Gi Announce They're Expecting Baby No.2 With Oscar Worthy Video!

  03-09-2015 14:16
  
  Someone hold us.
  
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• Fifth Harmony Have Announced A European Tour And Harmonizers Are Quite Rightly Losing Their Chill

  03-09-2015 13:33
  
  Fifth Harmony are coming to the UK and fans can't hide their excitement.
  
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• Little Mix's Perrie Edwards Dresses Up As A Cheetah, So Of Course People Assume She's Making A Dig At Zayn

  03-09-2015 13:31
  
  *Sigh*
  
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• Marnie Simpson's Fiance Ricky Rayment 'Arrested' On Suspicion Of ABH After Nightclub Appearance

  03-09-2015 12:10
  
  The TOWIE star was involved in a six-man scuffle on Saturday night...
  
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• Avril Lavigne Splits From Husband Chad Kroeger

  03-09-2015 11:51
  
  Avril Lavigne has announced that she has split from her husband of two years, the Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger. The 30-year-old married the rocker in July 2013 but said: "It is with heavy heart that Chad and I announce our separation today. The two Canadian singers met in July 2012 while working together on Lavigne's single Here's To Never Growing Up and Kroeger proposed a month later.
  
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• The Celebrity Big Brother Housemates Have Nominated For The First Time, And It’s Not Looking Good For Farrah Abraham

  03-09-2015 11:47
  
  Following the first round of nominations in the Celebrity Big Brother house, Farrah leads the pack with eight.
  
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• BFF Alert! Ex On The Beach Stars Vicky Pattison and Cami Li Step Out For London Night Out

  03-09-2015 11:36
  
  The pair cosy up as Vicky declares 'so much love' for Cami Li...
  
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• OMG! Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby Spotted Tashing On With Love Island's Max Morley

  03-09-2015 11:34
  
  It's a reality TV extravaganza.
  
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• OMG! Geordie Shore's Charlotte Crosby Spotted Tashing On With Love Island's Max Morely

  03-09-2015 11:34
  
  It's a reality TV extravaganza.
  
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• Wildest Dreams director defends Taylor Swift music video over whitewash claim

  03-09-2015 10:52
  
  The director of Taylor Swift’s new music video is defending the singer after some claimed she whitewashed her video based in Africa.
  
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• Justin Bieber Reveals The Real Reason Why He Cried At The VMAs

  03-09-2015 10:44
  
  Someone get the guy a tissue!
  
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• Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger: Complicated hitmaker confirms split on Instagram

  03-09-2015 10:27
  
  Canadian-French singer Avril Lavigne and Canadian rock band Nickelback's lead singer Chad Kroeger have separated after two years of marriage. "It is with heavy heart that Chad and I announce our separation today. Kroeger and Lavigne got engaged back in August 2012 and tied the knot in July 2013.
  
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• Director Denies Swift's Wildest Dreams Is Racist

  03-09-2015 09:35
  
  The director of Taylor Swift's latest music video has defended the singer after she was accused of creating a African colonial fantasy in the video. Joseph Kahn said the video for Wildest Dreams does include black people and was produced by a black woman and edited by a black man. Kahn, who also directed Swift's Blank Space and Bad Blood videos, is Asian.
  
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• Avril Lavigne announces split with husband Chad Kroeger

  03-09-2015 09:14
  
  Avril Lavigne has split from Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger after two years of marriage.
  
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• 15 Musicians You Didn’t Know Got Their Break From TV

  03-09-2015 08:50
  
  We all know about the artists who broke out from American Idol, The Voice and The X Factor. Most are forgotten a couple years later. And they’re forever branded as the tv show contest winner. And everyone by now knows Miley Cyrus started as Disney’s Hannah Montana (long before her spiritual potscapades with The Flaming Lips).
  But there are other ways musicians in the past 10 years have broken out from TV in a serious way that’s oftentimes forgotten about.  Getting their s
  
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• For the First Time In Norwegian History, Pirate Sites Are Being Blocked

  03-09-2015 08:36
  
  “The Court considers it clear that the The Pirate Bay has made ​​material available in a manner that clearly violates the copyrights or other rights of the plaintiffs under the Copyright Act.”
  Oslo District Court ruling.
  Earlier this week, T-Mobile made a big stink in Austria by flatly refusing to block access to the Pirate Bay.  In Norway, that’s no longer an option: according to an Oslo District Courthouse ruling issued today (Thursday), a
  
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• LA County Officials Are ‘Still Evaluating’ a Complete Ban on EDM Festivals

  03-09-2015 08:28
  
  Two teenagers died at the HARD Summer music festival in Los Angeles just over a month ago. The HARD enterprise is owned by Live Nation.
  Local government officials immediately proposed the prohibition-era idea of banning electronic music festivals on county owned land.
  Los Angeles County has come to an interim agreement with Live Nation as they investigate the safety of electronic music festivals. Live Nation agreed to cancel HARD Presents… A Night at Fairplex, an event that was partn
  
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