This Morning Call - All Quiet at 4AM

This Morning Call – a.k.a. Ben Heyworth – has been described as “Portishead on anti-depressants” and “LCD Soundsystem with a hangover” in various reviews. Evidently neither of these things would make for a decent album. The elusive ground Heyworth seeks between miserable and joyous electronic pop music has resulted in a halfway house which is strictly an adventure-free zone. Mild chord structures are held together with a mild voice as some mildly interesting electronic quirks flit about the place until the mild climax of each song. Like a hapless Air tribute act he plods through eleven instances of the above formula. In fact, it’s so mild it induces anger and despair simultaneously. Which is a shame, considering the production skills and potential Heyworth evidently has to carve a dazzling pop nugget. If he'd only taken a few slight risks to give these numbers nuance, This Morning Call might have produced something more than the artistic flatline that is All Quiet At 4AM. [Gordon Bruce]