Early bird catches the worm. Or so they say. Indeed, old proverbs mustn’t really apply to Hobotalk, who apparently give the best of themselves at sunset. Possibly because sunsets too can be… warm. Right, that’s a silly joke, but luckily the same can’t be said of ‘Notes On Sunset’, the sophomore, and, as they say, much anticipated effort by the underselling (for underrated they are not) Scottish outfit fronted and creatively driven by Mark Pilley. Still wrapped around his intimate folksy sound, no longer supported by Virgin, who released the debut album ‘Beauty In Madness’ (but supposedly even more free on Circular), still volcano-y in producing those heart-striking tunes and still owning a soul-melting voice, Mr Pilley has produced one of 2005's most-lovable (and hopefully loved) records.

If you could ever imagine a small secret world where everything is handmade, personal, within reach and just perfect (sounds like a hobbit house, doesn’t it), this is what ‘Notes On Sunset’ is about. Since the opening and tenderly sublime ‘Little Light’, piano, voice and guitar play together chasing each other like old friends who want to share feelings and memories, creating harmonies and tunes to die for, or at least to swoon about. Imagine the Kings Of Convenience going a little country, becoming a little warmer and working a little more on the backing vocals and you'll be likely to get close to Hobotalk. For quite a lot Hobotalk have got to share with the Norwegian duo, especially those apparent naiveté and understatement, and the same first-impact simplicity, which eventually translates into deep musical and emotional richness. (take ‘Letter From A Friend’, or the breathtaking ‘Me & My Mountain’, just to name two) And here there’s really plenty of rich songs: some of them swing, some go jazzy, some are sad, some are playful and some ethereal. But eventually, once again, all of them are, quite simply, beautiful. In madness, of course.