This trio dropped a punk-rock debut on the local scene about a decade ago, then stepped back and translated their ethos into folk-rock around 2010 as Chris Rico and the Fill-Ins.

Now they’re back to their old alter ago and Chris’s songs have survived the devolution without incident on their new EP, Injection. However, that has more to do with Cole’s idea of punk—and his pop sensibility—than it does his flexibility.

His cultural touchstone is definitely early pop-punk, Ramones and Buzzcocks, and although he’s run them through a hard metallic sheen this time around, pop-punk songs they remain, simple and yet sturdy enough to withstand transformation to any genre. What they aren’t is fresh or original.

Between Rico’s rather weak pipes (tastefully glossed over by the production), his stray guitar notes in the solos, and drummer John Warren’s tendency to move the beat off its foundation every time he tries a fill, Misled still sounds a lot more amateurish than they should.

Rocking louder and rocking harder is not the same thing.