Volume Two is a near perfect sequel to She & Him’s adorable debut album, evoking the same sweetness in 13 pretty, vintage pop songs. With the exception of 2 covers, Volume Two is written by quirky film actress Zooey Deschanel and produced by singer-songwriter Matt Ward.

It seems that the popularization of Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion in early 2009 convinced many experimental electronic artists that aimlessly noodling around with noises, sounds and excessive reverb was an acceptable thing to do. This is not the case for Jonas Reinhardt’s second Kranky release, Powers of Audition. The San Francisco-based quartet has a flair for integrating and accentuating hypnotic progressions and sinister overtones.

Finally, the much-anticipated album from Barenaked Ladies has arrived! It definitely provides a new sound – this is not the same Barenaked Ladies of a few years back. Although their style has evolved into something less eccentric, this album offers a much wider range in genre than any of their previous records.

Tracks from Michael Johnson’s 2009 release, Ape School, were semi-recently remixed and put onto an a seven-track compilation unoriginally titled Remixes. The songs carry similar resonance as the original tracks, however twangs of electronic pop and hip-hop make are present throughout the EP. Though both “That’s OK” and “Wail to God” were each remixed twice by different artists, they produce substantially differing sounds from one another.

Creating the appearance of cheating: A professor referred a senior to Student Judicial Affairs for submitting another student’s work as his own after discovering that the senior’s homework was identical to the previous year’s assignment.

Who to watch: First baseman Eric Johnson is a force to be reckoned with.

UC Davis world music aficionados have reason to rejoice this spring. On Apr. 8, Senegalese singer Baaba Maal will embark on his first United States tour in four years, making a stop in Davis on Apr. 15. Tickets are on sale for the concert, to be held at 8 p.m. in the Mondavi Center’s Jackson Hall.

MUSIC

Spring is finally in the air, but many Davis residents may already be ready for winter again. The pollen in this new spring air has helped to start the long Davis allergy season.

TODAY