Q & A with The Ascetic Junkies

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After their outstanding performance at The Woods last Sunday night, I headed out back with Kali and Matt (and later Graham) from Portland’s The Ascetic Junkies. We chatted for a bit, about musical guilty pleasures, Boston vs. Portland and other miscellany. Check out my video interview with The Ascetic Junkies below:

In addition to being one of the most original sounding bands I’ve heard yet, The Ascetic Junkies are also endearingly familiar. They draw you in with their folksy sound, then they knock you on your rear with their surprising pop elements and their use of percussion to make beautiful music.

At this particular performance, The Ascetic Junkies treated the crowd to the debut of one of their new songs, “World Ended.” In fact, that’s the theme of their new album. But it’s not as depressing as it sounds. Taking this song into account, it sounds like The Ascetic Junkies will focus on the bittersweet side of what is admittedly a gloomy subject. The Ascetic Junkies have allowed BestNewBands to post our video of this new song, which is still in progress. Feel free to comment on this post, and we’ll be sure to let The Ascetic Junkies know what you think.

You can see The Ascetic Junkies for yourself the next time they play March 30 in Bend, Oregon at OSU Cascades. They are also set to play at The Doug Fir on April 23 in Portland.