‘Abnormally Attracted to Sin’

‘Abnormally Attracted to Sin’

Tori Amos (Universal Republic Records)

Grade: B

From the blood-soaked opening thumps of “Abnormally Attracted to Sin,” it’s obvious that Tori Amos is still the reigning muse for mystic goth girls. The new 17-song collection strikes a balance between Victorian-inspired decadence, mythical pathos and arch camp.

For all her theatrics, Amos is also the warm and wise sister-goddess, passing on advice she’s learned the hard way.

“Abnormally Attracted to Sin,” a wild-girl wink of a title if there ever was one, is rife with idiosyncrasies, and occasionally Amos, her British husband-producer, Mark Hawley, and co-producer Marcel Van Limbeek smear too much pancake makeup on an already gussied-up affair.

But when the record hits the sweet spot, like on the title track, the album’s themes of temptation — whether that be to fundamental religion, self-destruction or self-medicating vices — simmer together with wit and heart.

It’s a relief to hear something bright and muscular. “Not Dying Today” is a survivor’s song, with the second-hand wisdom that music and good friends can ward off death, at least temporarily.

— Margaret Wappler, Los Angeles Times

‘Blackout! 2’

Method Man and Redman

(Def Jam)

Grade: C

The collaboration between Method Man and Redman on the 1999 album “Blackout!” was so enjoyable that it raised the bar for any future projects between the humorous pair.

But 10 years later, the duo fails to live up to expectations on “Blackout! 2.”

The new CD mainly falls short because of its length — it’s overloaded with 17 tracks. The CD just seems to run too long, boring listeners with redundant lyrics and weak skits.

Where it does stir excitement are tracks that feature the rappers taking some artistic leaps. The southern-sounding “City Lights,” featuring UGK, is a hit, as is the club-influenced “I Know Sumptn.”

— Mesfin Fekadu, Associated Press

‘Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away’

Slaid Cleaves (Music Road)

Grade: B

How’s that for a cheery come-on of an album title? You can’t accuse Slaid Cleaves of pulling his punches. The line comes from the first song, “Cry,” which also promises “Every blue sky fades to gray” and sets the tone for this beautiful bummer of a record.

Cleaves has always been a sharp writer, and it’s that ability that makes this relentlessly dark set more gripping than oppressive. The folk-country troubadour delivers dramatic narratives like “Run Jolee Run” (“That little .32 in her pocket is loaded”) and “Twistin’,” a tale told from a hangman’s perspective. He deftly melds the personal and the political in “Hard to Believe” and ponders big questions in “Dreams” (“Where do your dreams go to when it all starts to turn untrue?”). The penultimate number is called “Beautiful Thing,” but it’s no ray of light — the phrase is just Cleaves’ ironic punctuation to a litany of social and political ills, although maybe he really is being more hopeful than ironic when he declares, “Somehow I still believe in the goodness of man.”

— Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer

‘Further Complications’

Jarvis Cocker (Rough Trade)

Grade: A

Hooray for British dandies such as Jarvis Cocker, whose second solo album is just as worthy as his best with rock troupe Pulp in the ’90s.

Still slim-suited and sneering, Cocker shows off the sort of intellectual lyrical prowess most musicians only grumble about wanting.

Recorded by Steve Albini, “Further Complications” follows 2006’s debut solo album “Jarvis” with a collection of seething, staccato Britpop and folksy grooves centered on the three Ws: women, witty escapades and the working world’s ills.

The title number starts off with a meaty synthesizer-strained guitar riff paving the way for Cocker’s cheeky tone.

“In the beginning there was nothing and to be honest/ That suited me just fine/ I was three weeks late coming out of the womb/ In no great rush to join the rest of mankind,” Cocker snaps.

It’s hard not to giggle at songs such as “Leftovers,” so clever at twisting the classic boy-girl meet into something much more humorous and creative.

Cocker could always distill economic drudgery into something poetically caustic, as he does on “Homewrecker!” with its bombastic horn section, or on “Caucasian Blues,” wailing tongue-in-cheek about sleeping with a woman “until your hair falls out” and how a man’s money “is just cowardice.”

Spitting words like bits of flame, Cocker builds a bonfire of sarcasm hot enough to burn through any societal malaise.

— Solvej Schou, Associated Press