A Great Big World’s mournful slice of heartbreak, “Say Something,” has become an adult-contemporary staple since its 2013 release. The pair’s second album, When the Morning Comes, serves as a state-of-the-union check for the idea of “soft rock.” Ian Axel and Chad King’s voices are a noble building block, bringing to mind a Broadway spin on the thoughtful trilling of Paul Simon. But the music surrounding those harmonies mimics recent hits to a fault, making even the peppier offerings sound tired.
Solidarity anthem “Hold Each Other” copies pop motivators like Katy Perry’s “Roar”; “Won’t Stop Running” waters down Ed Sheeran’s rapid-fire delivery by adding the sort-of-determined chorus Ryan Tedder might write. Other tracks find them backed by wan takes on the hey-ho-ing choruses that populate car ads. The lovely “Where Does the Time Go,” tucked near the end, lets the pair’s vocal interplay shine, a meditative respite from the carbon-copy clamor that precedes it.