It's the community fair in Harleysville, Pennsylvania and I'm waiting in line for the not- too- large, not- too- safe- looking Ferris wheel. The ride lasts for roughly two minutes; it takes the drunken, middle-aged man running the show about fifteen to clear the seats of frightened little children and their freshly-nauseated parents.

After the ride, I might throw a dart at a balloon in hopes of winning a plastic Playboy mirror. Or I can strike up a conversation with my high school prom date, who's still hanging out with the same people she was five years ago.

The carnival's soundtracked by something half classic rock and half carnival noise, for which I couldn't quite find a name. It later revealed its evil self as Trunk Federation.

Trunk Federation is not the first band to experiment with bubble gum-tinged power pop. They're also not the worst. Some of the tunes on The Curse of Miss Kitty, particularly the opening "Devil in a Catskin," are genuinely decent bits of kitschy pop rock. There's over-the-top instrumental accompaniment with strings, keys and horns bouncing off distorted power chords.

Trunk Federation is fun like the Harleysville Community Fair. It's a kind of simple fun that ultimately gives you the desparate urge to go somewhere more sophisticated. But it's only when the group strikes up a bizarre, vocally-butchered take on Bob Geldof's "I Don't Like Mondays," that you realize you've hung around too long.

-Christian McDermott