Music news

• Steps review – a glorious, schmaltzy sequined spectacle

  26-11-2017 18:11
  Wembley Arena, London
  The cheese-pop originators are on good form as they deliver two hours of hits with the gusto of a West End musicalAfter a far from amicable split at the turn of the millennium, 90s cheese-pop originators Steps unexpectedly made peace in 2012 via a TV special. With a comeback tour and a Christmas album having cemented Lisa, Claire, Faye, H and Lee’s return, the group released a new album, Tears on the Dancefloor, earlier this year. The success of this record, and the f
  
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• Scientists Find Link Between Energy Drinks And Mental Health Problems

  26-11-2017 15:50
  It might be a good idea to place a limit on your caffeine intake.
  
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• Kylie Jenner Wants Everyone To Know She Just Cut Off "All" Her Hair

  26-11-2017 15:06
  Could the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star maybe be exaggerating? Potentially.
  
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• BBC Philharmonic / Morlot review – striking orchestral ideas in new Sierra symphony

  26-11-2017 15:03
  Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
  Ludovic Morlot led a debut of Arlene Sierra’s Nature Symphony, which nods to everything from bees to the dark landscapes of Georgia O’KeeffeBorn in the US but based in Britain, Arlene Sierra is perhaps best known on this side of the Atlantic for her feisty, energy-packed ensemble pieces. But her catalogue also includes a number of orchestral pieces, several of which have been taken up by Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. That made Morlot
  
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• Bella Thorne Strips Off Nude To Reveal Not One But Two Secret Tattoos

  26-11-2017 14:19
  The actress had to show off a whole lot of side-boob to give fans a glimpse of the ink.
  
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• James Arthur review – X Factor come-back kid shyly steps into arena spotlight

  26-11-2017 13:29
  Wembley Arena, London
  Arthur’s superfans are out in force as the once-errant singer returns with all the big-gig trappings – and plenty of ballads – on his first arena tourSuccessful second acts in talent-show stardom are so rare that James Arthur is not only lucky, but also a gangly beam of encouragement to other pop acts who have done foolish things and run out of career road. Approaching the end of his first arena tour, buoyant on the enthusiasm of his Jarmy – the supe
  
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• Emma Watson Reportedly Splits From Boyfriend Of Two Years William ‘Mack’ Knight

  26-11-2017 12:15
  The couple had been dating since October 2015 and parted ways earlier this year.
  
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• Jemma Lucy Completes Lip Reduction Surgery In An Effort To Look More Natural

  26-11-2017 11:17
  The former Ex On The Beach star has been aiming for a juicy but slightly more natural pout.
  
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• Jennifer Lawrence Dreams Of Taking A Break From Acting To Milk Goats

  26-11-2017 10:39
  Is it just us or does this sound like the beginning of a movie in itself?
  
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• King Krule review – Archy Marshall’s coming of age

  26-11-2017 10:00
  Koko, London
  A dizzying mix of styles, raw intensity and endless heartache give the south Londoner’s performance undeniable cloutArchy Marshall appears as though out of nowhere, stepping out of the violet-lit murk to the microphone – a flash of white electric guitar, pale features, red hair and a glimpse of white socks. Released last month, his arresting second album under the name King Krule is titled The Ooz, thanks to its debt to bodily gunk and entropy.The subdued lighting &ndash
  
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• Björk: Utopia review – a lush, airy fresh start

  26-11-2017 09:59
  (One Little Indian)
  Björk exudes a lust for life again on her self-styled ‘Tinder album’, a hope-filled set powered by flutes and birdsongTo talk of Björk’s Utopia as a rebirth is no stretch. On the cover of her ninth solo album she emerges as though from an iridescent caul. Her forehead has been modified into a uterine shape; pearls fall from fallopian flowers.It wouldn’t be a stretch either to note that after the austere, extreme Vulnicura – the 201
  
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• Holly Hagan Undergoes Hair Colour Transformation And This Shade Is Incredible

  26-11-2017 09:52
  The former Geordie Shore lass has ditched the soft blonde and gone full-throttle Ice Queen.
  
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• The Reason Gaz Beadle And Emma McVey Won't Share A Photo Of Their Newborn

  26-11-2017 09:33
  The couple hinted they won't be uploading an image on the day of their son's birth.
  
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• Kelly Lee Owens: ‘My patients were my career advisers’

  26-11-2017 09:30
  The Welsh nurse turned techno-pop shaman is creating waves with her healing, trance-like debutMusic can soothe the soul, but Kelly Lee Owens’s techno pop appears to have an especially balm-like quality. Her eponymous debut album came out in March, and while she didn’t have any specific intentions for it – “I had the Yoko Ono mindset, which is just to put good work out into the world and let it do its thing” – she didn’t anticipate the response it receive
  
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• Xenoula: Xenoula review – an intricate, experimental debut

  26-11-2017 09:00
  (Weird World)Occasionally this debut album from Xenoula (real name Romy Xeno) feels like relatively run-of-the-mill indietronica – tracks like Luna Man, for example, are somewhat forgettable. But as the album opens out, it’s clear the South Africa-born, Wales-based artist, along with producer LA Priest, offers something more intricate and strange. Dreamy Caramello boasts breathy, sweet vocals ghosting over rich but fragmented electronic textures, pulled together over a warm, organic,
  
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• Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: Who Built the Moon? review – Noel picks up the tempo

  26-11-2017 09:00
  (Sour Mash)After almost a quarter of a century ploughing an increasingly unproductive furrow, Noel Gallagher has decided to change tack. His third solo album is his most expansive yet, with an uncharacteristic energy, most notably on the stomping glam rock of Holy Mountain. Keep on Reaching, meanwhile, owes more to Mark Ronson, swept along by frantic forward propulsion, and there are echoes of former collaborators the Chemical Brothers throughout. As the tempo drops, though, so does the quality:
  
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• Little Mix: ‘We embrace who we are, we’re not perfect’

  26-11-2017 09:00
  Little Mix are one of the biggest girl bands in the world. So shouldn’t they be having as much fun as the Spice Girls before them? Eva Wiseman finds out it’s not so simple in 2017It was summer 2015, and Little Mix were premiering a new song live on TV when they got to the lyric, “Love isn’t fair”, and Perrie Edwards, fresh from her break-up with One Direction’s Zayn Malik, burst into tears. Bandmates Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson fell gent
  
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• Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy: A Pocket of Wind Resistance review – warm, wise, compelling

  26-11-2017 09:00
  (Hudson)The ground around her has long given inspiration to Scottish folk artist Karine Polwart; last year the peat bogs near her home in Fala, Midlothian, gave birth to her first theatre show, Wind Resistance, incorporating spoken word, song and sound design from composer Pippa Murphy to recount sad local histories and draw connections between bird migration, childbirth and landscape. The album version steps softly in the lightest arrangements on the likes of the traditional Lark in the Clear A
  
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• Houston Person: Rain or Shine review – soulful yet sparky

  26-11-2017 09:00
  (HighNote)Although he doesn’t attract much critical attention, Houston Person must have a large and loyal following, judging by the number of albums he’s made over the years. They’re a discriminating crowd, too, if this latest example is anything to go by. Ballads, blues, R&B classics – gently but unerringly his soulful tenor saxophone brings out their beauty, enhancing a melody with a few deft strokes. He can pick a good band, too, including in this case pianist Lafa
  
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