You have to hand it to him. While other X Factor winners have thrown in the towel and gone back to their day jobs or moved on to panto, James Arthur has steered his decade-long career with a reasonably steady hand – although in recent years the Middlesbrough man’s hairstyle has taken precedence over his music.

Arthur’s soulful, husky voice continues to be the main quality that sets him apart from the army of Ed Sheerans in operation, but there is only so far it will take him on his fifth album. The plethora of piano ballads like Free Falling, Just Us and Is It Alright? are serviceable but uninspiring, riddled with lyrical cliches such as “Only you give me the wings to fly” and “You brought me calm and I brought you thunder”.

The upbeat numbers are a big improvement; the jaunty strut of the title track sounds like Hozier meets The 1975. Blindside’s pacy swagger draws subtly from 1980s pop; while Comeback Kid takes a rockier, beat-driven approach. The guitar-led flounce of New Generation, Arthur’s attempt at a protest song with references to “politicians telling lies”, and a refrain that claims “the kids on the internet are running the world”, is somewhat less successful.

Hollow sloganeering and hackneyed balladry aside, Arthur is more than capable of churning out a decent, lively pop song. There are just not enough of them here to make a lasting impression.