Already being dubbed the UK’s answer to DJ Shadow or ‘the new Massive Attack’, Mattafix have a couple of things going against them – they’re neither DJ Shadow nor Massive Attack.

Now, that’s not to say that this debut is not good. It is, in patches. Single “Big City Life” is damn memorable, with the chorus constantly lodging itself into your brain. Vocalist Marlon Roudette has a voice that will either delight or revolt most listeners – it’s not too far removed from James Blunt’s strained howl – but there’s no doubting that the vocal melodies are part of what’s appealing about Mattafix.

However, the key to the sound of Signs of a Struggle lies clearly in the production of Preetesh Hirji – he can go from the sparse beat of “To & From” to the more complex and thoughtful acoustics of “I To You”. “Everyone & You” certainly shows the influence of DJ Shadow, whose drum sound is mimicked often throughout this debut.

As such, there’s not a terrible amount of originality to be heard on Signs of a Struggle. Whilst the sound of it is pleasantly endearing, with all the beats in the right places and clever melodies merged with heartfelt vocals, too often the album sounds more like a product than it does a heartfelt production.