Until recently, Mike Posner was a bit of a bridesmaid figure of major-label pop, co-writing bangers for Justin Bieber and Maroon 5, but less successful when it came to recording under his own name (his former label shelved two follow-ups to his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff). But then came I Took a Pill in Ibiza, a cautionary drug lament which was transformed into a clubland anthem by the Norwegian producers SeeB and has since been viewed 150m times on YouTube. Those hoping for more of the bouncy pop-house of that remix will be disappointed by At Night, Alone, which largely sticks to the syrupy balladeering and twinkly production of the original. Some curios apart – the a cappella revolutionary hymn Only God Knows and rowdy folk-punk of Jade – there is little here that lingers long in the memory, with only Posner’s braggadocio and pinched vocals distinguishing him from the singer-songwriter crowd. “I know how to write one hell of a song,” he boasts on strum-along One Hell of a Song, citing tracks he wrote for Snoop Dogg and Bieber. Next time, he might want to save some of the hits for himself.
