In chart terms, the more traditional soul sound of the 1960s and early 70s had, by the late 1980s been totally usurped by altogether more saccharine offerings, typified by the global success of Simply Red. Occasionally, nods to the greats would break through, as with McAlmont & Butler's remarkable 1995 hit 'Yes' and a few years prior, Charles and Eddie's classic 'Would I Lie To You'. The more recent crossovers of Winehouse, Duffy, et al. has seen the genre re-enter the public consciousness, and reality TV star Lemar has carved out a career with a perfectly acceptable 21st century take on the genre.

Although you imagine the commercial appetite has largely been sated - with none of the post-Amy army of ingenues having been able to make any real kind of breakthrough - this hasn't phazed young Londoner Plan B (aka Ben Drew) from lifting C&E's sweet soul template wholesale for a thoroughly enjoyable, if unexpected, concept album that ties in with a forthcoming movie of the same name.

Largely abandoning the acoustic-rap tag with which he made his reputation, The Defamation of Strickland Banks is nominally the story of a singer who falls on hard times, and while it may not quite reach the heights of A Grand Don't Come For Free, it allows Drew to retain some of his street-level grit, sweetened only by the blue eyed soul arrangements. His tone, like a London Smokey Robinson is as authentic as a barrow boy can hope for and any initial scepticism is soon cast aside by 'Writing's On The Wall', an up-tempo dancer and one of the tracks our eponymous hero is supposed to have had some success with.

'Stay Too Long' has been largely inescapable over recent months, the choppy guitar licks soundtracking any number of 'Goals of the Week' round-ups before building up to a level of hysteria of almost Rage Against The Machine proportions. Certainly a candidate for end-of-year lists, anyone expecting more of the same will be largely disappointed, with the album never again achieving the same level of intensity. The sassy 'She Said' strays into Winehouse territory, with Drew falling back on his even lyrical flow to fill in some of the story's background details.

If the album falters it's because the journey seems incomplete. 'Welcome To Hell' is only track five and the other eight tracks fail to move the story on to any significant degree. Once Strickland reaches prison, the story seems trapped in the same cell walls as the protagonist and just circles around the fact that he's been hard done by. No apparent redemption and no release. The edgy strings of 'The Recluse' bring a little respite from the standard soul format and 'Traded In My Cigarettes' has a slight country-soul feel, but they don't quite succeed in shifting the feeling that what's needed is a little more London, a little more of the sound of today.

Undoubtedly one of the more unusual volte-faces of recent years, Drew's decision to abandon his acoustic for the full suited-and-booted soul review is, for the most part, a success and only gets shorn a point for not quite seeing the project through to a logical conclusion. Without the added complication of the storyline, this would be a perfectly solid modern soul album. As is, maybe we also need to see the movie to find out what happens to poor Banksy.