Fortunately, ‘home' in this case means High Barn at Great Bardfield, Essex - one of the region's most exciting and atmospheric venues, a Grade II listed medieval building with its own state-of-the-art recording studios. OK, so technically Paul lives in North London now, but High Barn is run by his parents. This happy circumstance has provided the incredibly prolific songwriter with an enviable opportunity for experimentation (he claims to have recorded around 50 songs so far, but narrowed it down to 13 for the album). Although Paul has started to gig with a band - even playing in California last October - here he was able to record all the instruments himself, Mike Oldfield style. And it's packed with great moments from its opening seconds, with the arresting close harmony of Intro which seems to promise something epic, but instead segues into the sparse, acoustically-driven Bygone Days. This is the first of several ‘summer songs' on this album; intimate in scale and optimistic in tone (musically, if not always lyrically) - the kind of songs that make you want to be driving in an open-top car on a sunny day with a picnic hamper in the back.

But five songs in, just when you've settled into the acoustic guitars, laid back conga rythms, easy vocals and intimate ambience, out come the piano, drums and synths for Our Lives, whose lonely arpeggios and steady build evoke all manner of things from Keane to Coldplay. This is picked up again in Hoax, which pushes the mood still further - even bringing to mind Dark Side of the Moon-era Pink Floyd and Sigur Ros in the process. These are punctuated by the cheeky, retro Turn the Page; another piano driven song that is more in keeping with early Elton John.

Then suddenly, with Beginning, it's like the start of a whole new album again. This is a wonderfully atmospheric piece (featuring that much underrated noise maker, the bullroarer) which leads into the gloriously upbeat This is the World, whose eccentricities and vocals seem to suddenly put Bullen in Beta Band territory. This eclecticism could threaten the coherence of this album, but from here the disparate styles - still very much recognisable as from the same pen - start to be brought together. The final song, The Optimist, not only sums up the mood, but also neatly reprises parts of Santa Cruz and This is the World - a kind of symbolic synthesis of all that has come before.

Let The Night Roll In is an album overflowing with ideas - and this can be a handicap. Occasionally, it seems to be struggling to pull it all together, and there's a sense in the bigger scale moments (such as the latter stages of Our Lives) that Bullen is spreading himself slightly too thin. I'd say get the other musicians in the studio and trust to the band; there's a snap to things that often only a band can achieve.

But let me put this in properly perspective: if it doesn't always work, it's only because he's taking such delight in pushing the boundaries - and to be honest, musicians who do that are far more interesting and rewarding than those who play it safe. This is an exceptional debut collection of songs, full of memorable moments, from a gifted young songwriter will surely go on to do greater things. Most importantly, at the end of the album, my mood was completely transformed. I was warmed, uplifted, and I swear the sun even came out. OK, maybe I imagined that last part - but this is music with the sun in its soul.

Writer: Toby Venables

www.paulbullen.com