Exampla Truant - I Feel You EP

Occasionally, as with Fleet Foxes, bands emerge that transcend years and styles, making music that would have been enjoyed as much by crowds 30 years ago as today’s equivalents. Alas, there are two sides to every coin. Italian MOR rockers Exampla Truant display similar nonchalance for musical developments; however, their EP I Feel You sounds dated, heavy-handed and generally insufferable. Perhaps some leeway should be offered to a band singing in what’s not their native tongue, but after a few listens, dodgy pronunciations begin to grate, particularly on the incessant refrain found on opening track Lake Shores. Musically, Exampla Truant are trapped in an '80s time warp that only accesses the bad bits: the tinny synths on Go Up The Stream, the clunky, whiny riffs scattered throughout and the awful, pseudo-ominous vocals from Martha Mels. Exampla Truant have all the appeal of a pub band covering Shakespeare's Sister, and if that doesn’t put you off, nothing will. [Finbarr Bermingham]