Damon Gough's (not to be confused with cricketer-turned-ballroom-dancing-ninny Darren) love of Bruce 'You're Not the Boss of Me' Springsteen has long been documented; ergo, calling his fourth album Born in the U.K. should accordingly sound like an unequivocal homage to his hero. Right? Not so; though Gough relates the same sort of lyrical narratives as Springsteen does - touching on urban, social and family life - there's not a single stadium-filling or air-punching anthem to be heard on the UK variant. In fact, Born in the UK doesn't deviate from much of anything that Gough's done, harking mainly back to the simplistic piano/guitar combo used on his 2000 debut The Hour of Bewilderbeast. However, while that album was a charismatic, taciturn treasure, a rehash of its most forlorn moments is positively unnecessary; yet, essentially, that's what Born in the U.K. is. There's no question that Gough is a talented songwriter, who, at his best, churns out quirky, often tongue-in-cheek humdingers (Bewilderbeast's 'Pissing in the Wind', About A Boy's 'A Peak You Reach', even Have You Fed the Fish's 'You Were Right'.) Disappointingly, the likes of Promises (flat, melancholic piano ballad), Nothing's Going to Change Your Mind (flat, melancholic piano ballad with orchestral swell) and Long Way Round (flat piano ballad with guitar and occasional trumpet) have none of the same vigour. Occasionally, proceedings rise above the mundane (the enjoyable-if-slightly-cheesy gospel paean Welcome to the Overground, and Journey from A to B, which somehow incorporates a melody worryingly similar to the Meteor ringtone), but ultimately, most of the overlong and overwrought tracks swing along inoffensively. All is not completely lost, though: the passport-style Special Edition is easily one of the best designed album sleeves ever, and is worth splashing out extra for. The innards, however, suggest that this Boy needs to get back to the Drawing board, instead of churning out the same deflated material he could do with his eyes closed.