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" Looking at the title of Marlon Roudette&amp;#039;s debut album, the former Mattafix member is either still bitter about the way things played out with bandmate Preetesh Hirji, or he&amp;#039;s a reasonably astute businessman.  Given that he recently told us he didn&amp;#039;t feel he was expressing himself adequately enough in the group but that things ended &amp;quot;positively&amp;quot;, we&amp;#039;re inclined to say a little of both are at play here.  He proves his point sure enough on his first solo offering, though rather wisely he doesn&amp;#039;t completely shy away from the past. Lead single &amp;#039;New Age&amp;#039; is the starkest by contrast; a piano-led love song that wouldn&amp;#039;t sound out of place on a Bruno Mars album until he puts his own trip-poppy twist on it for the chorus.  It&amp;#039;s a recipe he seldom messes around with; the lion&amp;#039;s share employing radio-ready pop choruses lined by bouncy, percussion-based verses not too dissimilar to Mattafix&amp;#039;s global hit &amp;#039;Big City Life&amp;#039;.  That said, there&amp;#039;s enough variation here to avoid accusing him of resting on his laurels - the wobbly bassline in &amp;#039;Storyline&amp;#039;, the Eastern European-flecked &amp;#039;Brotherhood of the Broken&amp;#039; and reggae beats on the Finley Quaye-assisted &amp;#039;True to Yourself&amp;#039; not only keep things interesting, they tell the story of his musical roots (his dad is Massive Attack/Sugababes producer Cameron McVey and he&amp;#039;s stepson of Neneh Cherry).  The result is a record designed to appeal to the masses, though its eagerness to do so won&amp;#039;t necessarily be to everyone&amp;#039;s taste.    Tracks to download: &amp;#039;New Age&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Riding Home&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Brotherhood of the Broken&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;True To Yourself&amp;#039; If you like this, you&amp;#039;ll like: R.I.O, Mattafix Listen to &amp;#039;New Age&amp;#039; below:       "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/album-reviews/review/a359389/marlon-roudette-matter-fixed-album-review/>