HIP-HOP

Snoop Dogg, "Malice N Wonderland" (Capitol)

Jay-Z turned 40 this month and can still sound youthful. Snoop Dogg is 38, but has seemed older for years. On his 10th studio disc, his voice is ossified. His delivery and rhymes are stiffer. His subject matter is, too. Snoop has long had an understanding of how to infiltrate the mainstream while maintaining the frisson of outlaw attitude: No one plays the gangster uncle better than he does. The lewd "I Wanna Rock" is one of the best songs here, and "Secrets" is a terrific slice of G-funk revival. But too often on this album Snoop is a fuddy-duddy, domesticated and palatable. On at least three songs he awkwardly mentions jerking, the dance-centric hip-hop craze so dominant in Southern California this year. And on several tracks he preaches about his love for his wife, Shante, with whom he renewed vows last year after filing for divorce in 2004. It all has the air of obligation around it. "Upside Down," with its punchy snares and casual bawdiness, is far looser as he sounds unburdened, excited, young.

JON CARAMANICA, NEW YORK TIMES

POP/ROCK

Mudvayne, "Mudvayne" (Epic)

After the exceedingly nerdy concept pop-metal album "The New Game," Mudvayne has returned to what it does best (or at least frequently) on its new self-titled album. Drums roil, guitars tangle and singer Chad Gray continues to do terrible things to his larynx in service of the band's grind. Except for a few failed radio-bait cuts such as "Scream With Me" and "All Talk," "Mudvayne" keeps its tempos quick and the riffage constant. "Heard It All Before" conjures an entire adolescence of gnarly hormones in its half-time chorus rage, while "Burn the Bridge" walks a tricky time-signature tightrope. Gray's lyrics are inscrutable notebook doodlings. But you listen to count the kick-drum fills while you psych yourself up to use your fake ID to buy beer at the gas station for the first time. On that front at least, Mudvayne is very much back in form.

AUGUST BROWN, LOS ANGELES TIMES