‘THE 8 DIAGRAMS’

‘THE 8 DIAGRAMS’

Wu-Tang Clan (Loud/SRC)

Grade: A-

When the Wu-Tang Clan fire on all cylinders, they simply operate on a different level from everyone else in hip-hop.

It’s on display throughout “The 8 Diagrams” — the hip-hop conglomerate’s first album since 2001’s “Iron Flag,” as well as its first since the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard in 2004 — in the moments when RZA’s dense, meticulously crafted beats get surrounded by the dark, gritty rhymes of the rest of the Clan.

The centerpiece is the epic “The Heart Gently Weeps,” based on a sample from George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which is augmented by guitarwork from Harrison’s son, Dhani, and Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante. Over the fuzzy-dream riffs and between pretty, female-driven hooks sung by Erykah Badu, Raekwon and Ghostface take turns telling a terrible tale of how staying in on a snowy night to watch “Raisin in the Sun” devolves into a murderous rampage and how revenge shootings play out in a Pathmark. It drives home the theme of darkness lurking around every corner, a feeling echoed in “Life Changes,” a touching tribute to Ol’ Dirty Bastard, built around the haunting soul hook, “I go through life pretending that time will change the ending.”

Even the generally upbeat George Clinton, who appears on “Wolves,” somehow sounds menacing in the dark surroundings of “The 8 Diagrams.” Only on “Starter” do the members of the Clan show off any rhymes that are even remotely playful.

If Wu-Tang Clan’s tales weren’t so gripping and their arguments weren’t so compelling, this dark, paranoid ride would make it easy to accuse them of being morose. Instead, the vivid images of “The 8 Diagrams” leave you with the sinking feeling that they might just be speaking the truth.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

‘FACE OFF’

Bow Wow and Omarion (Columbia)

Grade: B-

Think of it as “Best of Both Worlds: The Next Generation,” with Bow Wow and Omarion taking over for Jay-Z and R. Kelly. “Face Off” is an album-length collaboration between the two young stars, filled with radio-friendly, hip-hop-tinged pop songs about girls and the pursuit of them.

Though there really is little to differentiate “Girlfriend” from “Baby Girl” or “Another Girl,” that doesn’t matter much. It all goes down pretty easily, with Bow Wow’s rougher rhymes playing off of Omarion’s smooth vocals nicely on “Can’t Get Tired of Me” or the bombastic first single “Hood Star,” with its concern about “the definition of nice.”

Actually, that’s what makes “Face Off” sound different from so much hip-hop these days — little competition, just a whole lot of making nice.

— Glenn Gamboa, Long Island Newsday

‘ANGEL DOWN’

Sebastian Bach (Get Off My Bach)

Grade: C

Sebastian Bach turns 40 next year, and he proves on his new “Angel Down” that he can screech like vocalists half his age. That’s not a skill to be particularly proud of, but his desperate edge does send one loud message to young singers in today’s metal bands: Learn to do something else before you’re middle-aged.

Fortunately, Bach himself has branched out since he was an 18-year-old vocalist for Skid Row. So far in the 21st century he has found his way onto Broadway (as the title role in “Jekyll & Hyde” and as Riff Raff in “Rocky Horror Show”) as well as television, where he appeared on “Gilmore Girls,” “I Married ... Sebastian Bach” and, this past summer, “Celebrity Rap Superstar,” a reality show/rap competition in which he finished third.

So at this point, “Angel Down,” Bach’s first solo release since 1999, is just a career footnote — which is a good thing, because if he didn’t have anything else going for him, this would be depressing. But it’s serviceable as a sideshow, thanks almost entirely to producer Roy Z and the firepower of Bach’s band — guitarists Mike Chlasciak and Johnny Chromatic, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and bassist Steve DiGiorgio.

Obviously Bach’s the draw, and he dutifully, albeit rotely, delivers enough screams to give his old fan base a charge. Additional bait comes from three guest performances by Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose.

The reward of “Angel Down” is its high-wattage, slick sound, especially the powerful thrash of the title track, the churning electricity of the cover of Aerosmith’s “Back In the Saddle,” the chugging drive of “Our Love Is a Lie,” the adrenaline discharge of “American Metalhead” and the incendiary boil of “Negative Light.”

— Chuck Campbell, Knoxville News-Sentinel

‘TALES FROM A DIRT TOWN’

Bobaflex (TVT)

Grade: C

In a way, Bobaflex is ahead of the game with “Tales From a Dirt Town.” The hard-core rock band experiments with its sound beyond the genre norm, and no two tracks are alike.

That said, the group led by West Virginia brothers Shaun and Marty McCoy is often all over the place and not always served well by its ambitions.

“Tales From a Dirt Town” is a stream of hits and misses, unraveled by lack of continuity — four of the five members sing, which doesn’t help — and a fizzle of momentum on the second half of the release.

The Queen-like theatrical flair of “Born Again” is offset by a cheesy chorus, while the compelling heft in the refrain of “Satisfied” is incongruously contrasted by the overly pretty verses. “Paranoid” is playful, though formulaic, “Need a Drink” is a mixed-cocktail of tempo and mood shifts that doesn’t go down smoothly (though it’s still potent), and the well-constructed closer “Home” feels important, even if the lyrics are pedestrian.

Fortunately, the driving “That Old Speed” is just pure, classic grit without pesky distractions.

Bobaflex’s enterprise doesn’t carry through all of “Tales From a Dirt Town,” particularly on its later tracks, and the result is a slapdash feel for “Be With You” and “I Still Believe” and an anemic rhythmic push for “Goodbye.”

This release is blatantly stitched-together, its seams clearly showing. But at least the band made an effort not to be like everyone else.

— Chuck Campbell, Knoxville News-Sentinel

‘NOBODY LIKES A WINNER’

Breakup Society (Get Hip)

Grade: A

Breakup Society front man Ed Masley was born 30 years too late: his regular-guy-with-a-guitar-and-girls-on-his-mind dreams are cut from the same cloth as unassuming late ’70s power-pop heroes such as Dwight Twilley and Alex Chilton.

How else to explain the righteously retro feel to “Nobody Likes a Winner,” Masley’s sophomore album as the Breakup Society?

Those looking for a concept record, a la the band’s 2004 release, “James at 35,” will have to settle for merely a strong batch of tunes that revisits the same territory, albeit without a narrative thread. Masley deals with girl troubles — “She’s out of his reach / But he’s willing to try” goes “Another Candlelit Night” — and bouts of insecurity (the title track; “How Failure Saved Me From Myself”), all dressed up in chiming guitars, bright hooks and catchy “de-doo-doo-doos.”

Masley, to his credit, doesn’t try to top his earlier gem, but rather builds on that record, adding horns and strings, tightening up the songwriting (witness the clever/aching “Strictly Biological Heart”) and even recruiting a master of self-deprecation, the Minus 5’s Scott McCaughey, to sing lead vocals on “By a Thread.”

Masley starts to run out of steam by the end — just when he begins to find redemption on “Forget the Past” — but he’s proved his point: Rooting for the underdog is much more fun than pulling for a winner.

— Stephen Haag, Hartford Courant

‘PLAY IT ‘TIL TOMORROW’

Nick Moss and the Flip-Tops (Blue Bella)

Grade: B

Nick Moss begins his latest album with a dirty little riff-rocker called “Late Night Saint.” Make no mistake, however: This young Chicagoan is a bluesman through and through, and the rest of the two-disc “Play It ‘Til Tomorrow” conjures Muddy and the Wolf more than Mick and Keith.

It’s not just that singer-guitarist Moss and his razor-sharp combo expertly revive classic Chicago blues. They breathe new fire into the form with top-flight Moss originals that run the emotional gamut from bravado to anguish, and they play them with a raw yet stylish vitality that fairly leaps out of the speakers. On the second disc, they go mostly unplugged, but without losing any of their searing intensity.

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer