Trunks & Tales is an acoustic punk duo out of Pennsylvania. So is one dude the trunk and the other the tale? No, kidding. They've probably heard that enough and I don't even know what that would mean. Anyway, the band obviously play stripped down, but still manage a plush sound, wielding dual acoustic guitars, but don't quite have the songs yet.

There's something surprisingly distinct going about Trunks & Tales with opener "Fifteen Side Effects, Ten of Which Are Death," yet despite the clearly worn hearts and sincerely raspy vocal delivery, something is largely missing. They play competently and sound adequate, but the track's not doing enough to jump out musically or lyrically. When "On the Conspiracy Shelf, Between Roswell and Marilyn Monroe" follows, tinges of the Riot Before's quiet side bleed through, albeit with less aggression and a degree of songwriting talent that's not quite there.

Through an emotional strum and certain twang, the guitar in "The Importance of Not Being Too Earnest (Cut-Throat Corn Bread)" reminds me of Won-era As Friends Rust (especially "Ten," in regards to the former)--albeit unplugged, obviously. But unlike the thrilling, impassioned choruses or palapable urgency of that album, there's no breaking point or compelling motion to make "Earnest" anything more than merely passable, and there's not enough power in the band's restrained approach to make up for it.

Standing Still Fast is by no means awful, but it's unfortunately humdrum. They've got the groundwork to support a structure, but they've got to keep it from toppling too quickly.

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Standing Still Fast EP