No, Neutral Milk Hotel hasn't turned folk, and no, Elliott Smith hasn't abandoned his baroque pop stylings. The music on this second volume of the Home series of collaborations, brought to us by Austin's Post-Parlo Records, brings such ideas to mind. Scott Garred of Silver Scooter (aka Super XX Man) and Tiara's Eric Rottmayer (aka Eric Metronome), have crafted that precious, gentle breed of folk that has become all the rage.

Yeah, yeah -- think Belle and Sebastian without the accent and the super-clean production. Since Belle and Sebastian haven't put out a quality release since If You're Feeling Sinister, it's really up to everybody else to put together cohesive folk-pop albums. That's just what Garred and Rottmayer do here. It's not flashy, it's never pretentious and it's simply quite good.

The two collaborators have penned four songs apiece for Home: Volume II, and they play two covers as well (one of which is the Softies' "Fragile, Don't Crush"). Rottmayer's tracks tend to be more elaborate, while Garred's almost suggest Crayon in their absolute tweeness. These are the most twee-sounding folk songs you're likely to come across.

"See You See" might be the album's finest moment. Through fragile, sweet wordplay and a quietly strummed guitar, Rottmayer documents a touching expression in a relationship. The Softies cover sees the duo harmonizing in a manner that's best labeled cute.

The collaboration is quite a success. It makes you want to explore the two artists' "primary" bands, to look into past and future Home editions, and to dig deeper into Post Parlo's apparently quite decent stable of bands. In short, Home: Volume II is a nice, accomplished surprise.