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.com

With their second U.S. release (Step One actually pulled songs from the first two English albums), Steps have confirmed that they may very well be the best bubblegum band on the planet. Unlike most American acts aiming at the teen market, the British quintet doesn't look to contemporary R&B for inspiration. Instead, it proudly goes back to the heydays of late '70s and early '80s pop. The shadow of Abba looms large, and, unsurprisingly, Steps have charted U.K. hits with covers of songs by Bananarama ("Last Thing on My Mind"), Kylie Minogue ("Better the Devil You Know"), and the Bee Gees ("Tragedy"). The new album continues in the same vein, even if this time around Steps dip their toes in aerobicized funk--"Stomp," which blatantly quotes Chic's "Everybody Dance," is subtitled "a tribute to Bernard Edwards/Nile Rodgers." Despite a surfeit of ballads dragging things down toward the end, the album mostly zips along with feisty energy. If an unabashedly commercial English import deserves to make it in America, it's Steps. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

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