Born with Love Pt. 1 (EP)
HALLEY
genre: R&B/ Soul • release date: 2026
HALLEY has been on my radar for some time. This five year old band blends a plentiful of sounds into their music. Hearing heavy influences from Gospel, R&B, Soul, Funk, and even some Jazz gets me excited to hear what future HALLEY has to offer. They have alot of room to grow. But where they are now, in skill and talent, is no simple feat and they are well on their way to becoming well-seasoned musicians. And Born with Love Pt. 1 gives us a lite set of samples of what we can expect from them.
“Stronger” starts us off and immediately we can hear the talent that is HALLEY. The band has some skilled people behind those instruments and through this quick EP, they don’t let you forget that. “Stronger” has that relaxed funk groove with a “Bennie & The Jets” beat that keeps your head bumping. And Teh’s confidence in his vocal range gets me hyped up and keep wanting more. With some more experience and training, I believe that he can on par with the bigger names of his genre. I would like to hear some more movement from his voice. Especially with a song like “Stronger”, there’s room in the song for him to add runs to weigh the song down with emotion. There is room for improvement, but they are so advanced for how young their band is. I expect even greater things from them.
“Tokeau” takes the spotlight as the single from the EP. Everyone has room to shine a bit on this track. The groovy keys guiding the song along with the funky guitar playing in between the tiny pockets. It’s like a lite disco-dance, everything you need to move to along with a catchy chorus. And in the final quarter of the song, we get to the highlight of the track: Shin shredding it up on synth. What’s so great about the solo is that it’s not abrasive to the song. The break from the original groove to give it the deserving spotlight and then pulls you right back into the 2nd chorus. It doesn’t interfere with vocals at all, everything is right in its proper space.
“Where I Belong” picks up where “Tokeau” ended, with more of that Synth from Shin. It feels almost as they were meant to be played back to back. If they take out that vocal opening and just started with the drum fill into the track would have served as a perfect transition. This track is more so for the audience. With its catchy chorus, it is clear they were looking for something crowd engaging. It’s a fun quick track that I can see them ending their concerts with. It has a nice resolve to the EP, ending on a positive note.
Overall, Born with Love Pt. 1 serves us only a taste test of HALLEY. This was them saying, “Hey, look at us. Look at what we are capable of doing.” And they served. It is clear as day that we are dealing with some major potential. Everyone has their chops down. Now, it’s time to expand on their knowledge. After that, HALLEY will undoubtedly become a bigger well known name. A force to be reckoned with in the music industry. I wait with anticipation for more from them. And I can’t wait to see how they grow as band and individual musicians.
written by
Chance Aguilar
- highlights -
Stronger
Tokeau
track list:
Stronger
Favorite Tea
Tokeau
Where I Belong
