Auckland piano-playing songwriter Craig Hallen documents his original catalogue with this debut album. His fluid playing weaves its way through a range of styles including reflective ballads, funky piano rock and up beat acoustic mood music. Primarily Hallen is a storyteller and his widely varied styles of music allows him to do this successfully. From the opening bars his confident accompaniment supports a very Kiwi approach to his vocal delivery. The song arrangements are deliberate, sometimes to the detriment of potential mystery in what lies ahead. The Light And The Darkness is a great energetic opening track and along with the driving chorus and narrative approach of Holding On, Hallen manages to avoid low points in the listening, though his songs seem to warrant being enjoyed in a live setting.