Music news

• Obituary: Obituary review – death metal revival with sharp, insidious hooks

  16-03-2017 23:00
  
  (Relapse)Their biggest “hit” is called Chopped in Half and they have spent more than 30 years exploring the depths of sonic depravity: Obituary are simply the living embodiment of death metal’s gruesome spirit. Plainly intended to be definitive, their 10th album stays true to the scything, mid-paced attack that had such an impact on fledgling extreme metal in the late 80s, but in contrast to 2014’s Inked in Blood, this is no perfunctory delivering of familiar goods. Lates
  
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• The Shins: Heartworms review – an album of candid, heartfelt anecdotes

  16-03-2017 22:45
  
  (Aural Apothecary/Columbia)In the years since their surge of popularity in the early noughties, the Shins have more or less been whittled down to a James Mercer solo project. This record, his first in five years, certainly has the markings of a personal voyage. As well as being self-produced, it is full of candid, heartfelt anecdotes mixed with committee-free experimentation. New wave influences ripple throughout; Rubber Ballz has psychedelic qualities; Mildenhall is an Americana track that reca
  
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• Frances: Things I’ve Never Said review – warm, wistful mainstream balladry

  16-03-2017 22:30
  
  (Cookie)‘I’ll do anything I can to make you comfortable,” Berkshire’s Sophie Frances Cooke sings on the first track of her debut album – a vow she upholds. Nominated for the Brits critics’ choice award and BBC Sound of 2016 poll, the singer-pianist didn’t get here by upsetting applecarts: her occasional brushes with synthpop – the lovably clattery No Matter could have done duty as an Ellie Goulding single – only highlight the deep traditional
  
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• Spoon: Hot Thoughts review – indie experimenters dance the night away

  16-03-2017 22:15
  
  (Matador) Spoon have released nine albums since the early 1990s, the last three reaching the US Top 10. So they have nothing to prove, but you wouldn’t know that from the 10 songs here: Hot Thoughts is loaded with tunes, invention and adventure. Take the title track. Its arrangement never sits still – elements of post-punk jerkiness and dub appear and then are gone – but at its core is a descending-chord motif that is pure simplicity. Do I Have to Talk You Into It is a great ro
  
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• Real Estate: In Mind review – understated pleasures from steadfast indie-rockers

  16-03-2017 22:00
  
  (Domino)Real Estate have never been ones for taking giant leaps. Not for them any sudden changes in genre, double gatefold concept albums or other signifiers of a band wanting to “expand their horizons”. Instead, the New Jersey outfit’s career to date has been one of subtle shifts, quietly refining their pastoral indie-rock over the course of three albums. At a time when the genre is receiving criticism for its relative timidity, such steadfastness might seem like a strang
  
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• Daymé Arocena: Cubafonia review – Cuba's finest vocalist brings crossover thrills

  16-03-2017 21:15
  
  (Brownswood recordings) Still in her mid-20s, Daymé Arocena is Cuba’s finest young female singer, a lady with a powerful, versatile style and enormous crossover potential. Her only problem until now is that her songwriting has not quite matched her remarkable voice, but her second solo album helps to put that right. Like Roberto Fonseca, who invited her to sing on his ABUC album, she has decided to stress her Cuban roots on a set that mixes dance rhythms with chanting reminders of t
  
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• Readers recommend: share your songs about knowledge

  16-03-2017 21:00
  
  Make your nomination in the comments and a reader will pick the best eligible tracks for a playlist next week – you have until Monday 20 March For this week’s playlist we want to hear the songs that are fount of all knowledge. For more on the theme and a steer from our picker, keep an eye on the comments.
  You have until 11pm on Monday 20 March to post your nomination and make your justification. RR contributor George Boyland (who posts as sonofwebcore in the comments) will select fro
  
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• Yasmine Hamdan: Al Jamilat review – adventurous electropop from Beirut

  16-03-2017 20:00
  
  (Crammed Discs)Once a member of the Beirut duo Soapkills, Yasmine Hamdan enjoys cult status in the Middle East thanks to her cool, electropop songs with Arabic lyrics. In the west she is less well known, despite her contribution to the Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive. But that could change with this intriguing second album. The obvious comparison is to Algeria’s Souad Massi, and the opening track, Douss, starts off like a Massi favourite, with its blend of gently melodic acoustic
  
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• Daymé Arocena: Cubafonia review – Cuba's finest young female singer

  16-03-2017 19:45
  
  (Brownswood)Still in her mid-20s, Daymé Arocena is Cuba’s finest young female singer. She has a powerful, versatile style and enormous crossover potential. Her only problem before now is that her songwriting has not quite matched her remarkable voice, but her second solo album helps to put that right. Like Roberto Fonseca, who invited her to sing on his recent album, ABUC, she has decided to stress her Cuban roots on a set that mixes dance rhythms with chanting reminders of the cere
  
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• Cardew: Works 1960-70 CD review – politics with abundant imagination

  16-03-2017 19:45
  
  Duch/Tilbury/Davies(+3DB)In October 1981, the composer/Maoist activist Cornelius Cardew was evicted from the House of Commons gallery for shouting, during a speech by Enoch Powell, “this house stinks of racism”. He was killed in a hit-and-run two months later; who knows what mischief he would be making in our alarming times, but his music and its social message feel as pertinent as ever. Pianist John Tilbury worked with him a great deal and wrote an astute 1,000-page biography &ndash
  
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• Yasmine Hamdan: Al Jamilat review – dreamy Arabic electronica from an underground hero

  16-03-2017 19:35
  
  (Crammed Discs)Once a member of the Beirut duo Soapkills, Yasmine Hamdan enjoys cult status in the Middle East, thanks to her cool, electropop songs with Arabic lyrics. In the west she is less well known, despite her contribution to the Jim Jarmusch film, Only Lovers Left Alive. But that could change with this intriguing second album. The obvious comparison is with Algeria’s Souad Massi, and opening track Douss starts off like a Massi favourite, with its blend of gently melodic acoustic gu
  
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• Noel Fielding And Sandi Toksvig To Host Great British Bake Off Following Move To Channel 4

  16-03-2017 19:06
  
  Plus Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith as judges.
  
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• 18 Times That Chloe Ferry Was Too Chloe Ferry To Function

  16-03-2017 18:03
  
  Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry is literally one of a kind. Check out her craziest moments over at MTV.co.uk.
  
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• Stormzy condemns NME for using him as 'poster boy' for depression

  16-03-2017 18:02
  
  Grime star is featured on this week’s NME cover – but he knew nothing about it until magazine released the imageStormzy has condemned the NME for putting him on the cover of this week’s edition of the magazine, with the coverline “Depression: It’s time to talk.” The grime star accused it on Twitter of using him as “a poster boy for such a sensitive issue without permission”.Though it is commonplace for publications to run cover stories without nece
  
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• CONFIRMED: Ed Sheeran Is The Final Glastonbury 2017 Headliner!

  16-03-2017 18:00
  
  Ed steps up to the Pyramid Stage having last played in 2014...
  
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• Ed Sheeran to headline Sunday night at Glastonbury 2017

  16-03-2017 17:58
  
  The acoustic superstar joins Radiohead and Foo Fighters as this year’s Pyramid stage headlinersEd Sheeran is the third and final headliner at this year’s Glastonbury, where he will close the Pyramid stage on Sunday 25 June. He joins Foo Fighters, who top Saturday’s bill, and Radiohead, who headline on the Friday.Sheeran made his Glastonbury debut in 2011, playing the Croissant Neuf stage as his first appearance at Worthy Farm. That year he also appeared as a headliner on the BB
  
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• MTV Laid Bare - Biffy Clyro Talk Us Through Their Explosive Video For ‘Flammable’

  16-03-2017 17:45
  
  “It was one of the worst days I’ve ever had doing anything,” Simon Neil joked.
  
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• Get To Know: The Age Of L.U.N.A

  16-03-2017 17:20
  
  We caught up with the hip-hop four piece...
  
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• Future: ‘You’ve got to set your own destiny and go for the impossible’

  16-03-2017 17:17
  
  His back-to-back No 1 albums on the Billboard chart are a world first, but the rapper isn’t satisfied – he wants to outdo Michael JacksonFuture is in an opulent country club in the upscale Bel Air suburb of Los Angeles. He is playing with two rose-gold iPhone 7s while picking at a bowl of fruit and half a dozen slowly softening chocolate-chip cookies. As the Rat Pack croon in the background, he taps away on his phones, wearing his signature oversized sunglasses and a hoodie featuring
  
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• Geordie Shore’s Chloe Ferry Shares Video Of Her Chin Filler Injections On Snapchat

  16-03-2017 17:06
  
  OMG!
  
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• Maggie Rogers on the song that left Pharrell speechless: ‘It tumbled out in 15 minutes’

  16-03-2017 16:59
  
  Last year, an earnest student raised on the banjo stunned Pharrell Williams. The video of the encounter went viral, and now her striking folk-electronica is making waves tooMaggie Rogers has been asked so many times to describe the encounter with Pharrell Williams that propelled her to fame that she has got an answer memorised. “I just looked at my feet,” she tells interviewers, “and tried not to throw up.” But that’s just a line. The truth is, she can’t remem
  
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• Selena Gomez Opens Up About Fame: "I Can't Wait For People To Forget About Me"

  16-03-2017 16:57
  
  Selena Gomez wants people to forget about her.
  
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• Always Wanted To Ask Zara Larsson Something? Now's Your Chance...

  16-03-2017 16:53
  
  We're going 'In The Zone' with Zara soon and she wants YOUR questions...
  
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• Beauty And The Beast Cast Play ‘Would You Rather?’

  16-03-2017 16:17
  
  Watch the cast solve some HILARIOUS Disney dilemmas!
  
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• Depeche Mode: Spirit review – stripped back, amped up and angry

  16-03-2017 16:00
  
  A misguided endorsement from one of America’s most hated figures only serves to make the fury here sound even more righteousFrom New Labour and Britpop to Donald Trump and Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, politicians’ attempts to co-opt pop music seldom end well. But spare a thought for poor old Depeche Mode, recipients of perhaps the least welcome political endorsement since Margaret Thatcher killed the burgeoning career of 80s hopefuls Thrashing Doves stone dead
  
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• Flammable (MTV Laid Bare Exclusive Commentary)

  16-03-2017 15:58 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Simon, Ben and James run us through the shoot for their epic music video 'Flammable' including what it was like having fireworks aimed at their FACES...
  
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• Kendall Jenner Has $200k Worth Of Jewellery Stolen In Burglary

  16-03-2017 15:47
  
  Kendall Jenner has been burgled.
  
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• Aaron Chalmers' Mystery 'Smiler' Girlfriend Has Finally Been Revealed

  16-03-2017 15:46
  
  We were starting to think she didn't exist, Aaron.
  
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• 5 Things You Need to Know About Migos

  16-03-2017 14:52
  
  Check it out here
  
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• 19 Truly Alarming Pieces Of Swimwear Worn On Ex On The Beach

  16-03-2017 14:00
  
  There's some seriously interesting swimwear choices on Ex On The Beach. See the best ones at MTV.co.uk.
  
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• Kong v Godzilla SEQUEL: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson And Cast Reveal Ideas!

  16-03-2017 13:55
  
  The Kong: Skull Island cast reveal all their KONG V GODZILLA ideas!
  
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• LPO/Haslam review – faith, hope and pure minimalism

  16-03-2017 13:51
  
  Royal Festival Hall, LondonThe London Philharmonic and Synergy Vocals made a strong, evocative impression with works by Steve Reich and Gavin BryarsLike belief itself, it seems that the Southbank Centre’s year-long Belief and Beyond Belief festival can justify almost anything. Here, the label was attached to a concert by members of the London Philharmonic that included one of the greatest achievements of pure, entirely abstract minimalism, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians.It&rsqu
  
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• 15 Thoughts You're Guaranteed To Have At Universal Orlando's Major Mardi Gras Celebrations

  16-03-2017 13:34
  
  1. CAN I JUST LIVE HERE?
  
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• Partenope review – Handel on a night out with beardy bohemians

  16-03-2017 12:37
  
  Coliseum, LondonDespite the culottes and mustachios, ENO’s revival of its 2008 production retains enough substance to back up its arch stylingThis is a welcome return to English National Opera for its 2008 production of Partenope – a reminder, while the company struggles to define its identity, that it can still be a home of stylish Handel opera.And it is the style that matters in this production. The story itself is slight, and Christopher Alden’s staging doesn’t try to
  
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• Katy Perry Is Headlining Radio 1’s Big Weekend In Hull!

  16-03-2017 11:49
  
  50,000 free tickets will soon be up for grabs...
  
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• Azealia Banks agrees to anger management classes in assault case

  16-03-2017 11:49
  
  Rapper will complete 26-week course in return for reduced charges after allegedly punching and biting a nightclub security guard on the breastAzealia Banks has accepted a plea deal in the nightclub assault case against her. The New York rapper was due to stand trial for misdemeanour, assault and attempted assault after allegedly punching a nightclub security guard and biting her breast in an altercation. However, she will now complete a 26-week series of anger management classes in order for her
  
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• Harry Styles Is Looking Happier Than Ever As He Hangs Out With Fans

  16-03-2017 11:39
  
  Than. Ever.
  
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• You Won’t Believe What Classic Disney Games Are Coming Back

  16-03-2017 11:37
  
  NOSTALGIA-ING SO HARD RIGHT NOW.
  
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• Scotty T Shares Completely NAKED Footage On Snapchat

  16-03-2017 11:37
  
  Scotty T gets naked.
  
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• These Disney Princess Bikinis Are Both Magical And Wearable

  16-03-2017 11:21
  
  Disney Princess bikinis are here.
  
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• Jesy Nelson Officially Ends Perrie Edwards Feud Drama, Fuels Chris Clarke Romance Rumours

  16-03-2017 10:56
  
  She's been a busy bee.
  
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• Ex On The Beach Spoiler Video: Aaron Chalmers Reveals To Ex Becca Edwards The Reason Why They'll Never Get Back Together

  16-03-2017 10:30
  
  Don't miss the series finale of Ex On The Beach, Tuesday at 10pm - only on MTV!
  
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• Kim Kardashian Reveals Horrific Realisation That Paris Robbers "Were Following Us The Entire Trip”

  16-03-2017 10:03
  
  Harrowing to say the least.
  
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• Martin Garrix, Sigma (Live), Louisa Johnson & R3WIRE & Varski Confirmed Across Our MTV Crashes Plymouth Two-Dayer!

  16-03-2017 01:01
  
  YASSSSS!!!
  
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• Aggy Wid It

  16-03-2017 01:00 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Aggy Wid It
  
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• 11 Ways The New Beauty And The Beast Differs From The Original Animated Movie

  16-03-2017 00:11
  
  New characters, new songs and some big changes.
  
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