By Brian Mansfield, Steve Jones, Elysa Gardner and Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY
Notable releases this week include folk singer Gillian Welch's first album in eight years, Big Sean's big break into the mainstream, Dolly Parton's clich�d but irresistably optimistic new effort, and Taking Back Sunday's return after breaking up in 2003.
By Mike Coppola, Getty Images
New album 'Better Day' is classic Dolly Parton.
By Mike Coppola, Getty Images
New album 'Better Day' is classic Dolly Parton.
Gillian Welch, The Harrow & the Harvest
* * * � (out of four) FOLK
Things don't always go the way you plan them: That's certainly the case for Gillian Welch, who had no intention of waiting eight years to put out a new album. Expectations get dashed throughout this album, more in the lives of its characters than in Welch's collaborations with guitarist David Rawlings, which draw on rural imagery of the past to create stark, lovely songs. It may have taken longer than planned, but The Harrow & the Harvest sounds just the way it should. ? Brian Mansfield
>Download:Scarlet Town, Down Along the Dixie Line
Big Sean, Finally Famous
* * * RAP
The Detroit rapper finally gets some mainstream shine after years of mixtapes and postponed release dates. The Kanye West prot�g�'s charisma, clever punchlines and smooth, soulful flow make this radio-friendly set worth the wait. Mostly, he rhymes about the success he's had so far, the bumps in the road he's experienced and enjoying the fruits of his labor. Celebratory first single My Last, featuring Chris Brown, gets him off to a strong start. A strong roster of well-selected guests ? West, Lupe Fiasco, John Legend and Wiz Khalifa among them ? coupled with No I.D.'s melodic beats, should help make Sean even more famous. ? Steve Jones
>Download:I Do It, Marvin &Chardonnay, Memories
Dolly Parton, Better Day
* * * COUNTRY
You can take the girl out of the cabin, but you can't quash her rustic, no-nonsense spirit. So Parton insists, repeatedly and on occasion in very literal terms, on her latest album, a collection of positive-minded, good-humored odes to love, faith and endurance. Sure, there are clich�s here; but this age-defying country girl, with her resilient soprano and infectious pluck, seems incapable of a truly false note. ? Elysa Gardner
>Download:Somebody's Missing You, Shine Like the Sun
Taking Back Sunday, Taking Back Sunday
* * EMO
The Long Island band that bitterly split in 2003 has reunited with the lineup from 2002 debut Tell All Your Friends and, unfortunately, a lot of the same throat-strafing juvenile melodrama. What worked then feels strained now. Desperate to recapture bygone youthful glory, the band screams and flails through a hollow pageant of teen-angst punk tantrums. OK, some throwbacks (Best Places to Be a Mom, This Is All Now) are too good to throw back. ? Edna Gundersen
>>Download:El Paso, Best Places to Be a Mom
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