Skip to main content[RADIO POP] As gimmicks go, the one for local pop quintet the Ascetic Junkies' new four-song EP, Don't Wait For the Rescue Squad, is pretty innovative: Not only is it available for free at the band's release show, but you can even download it instantly from a computer to your iPod or a CD-R...at the venue. The future's here, so long as you bring a USB drive.
Considering the sound of Rescue Squad, maybe the gimmick isn't so out of line. While the Ascetic Junkies' previous material skewed toward the alternative-roots set—lots of good ol'-fashioned banjo-pickin'—the four songs here, two of which are remixes, are decidedly more pop. "Jenny, Don't Do That!!" features Graham Houser on banjo, but it screams radio more than bluegrass. The Junkies achieve a nice balance between acoustic instruments and electronic ones, including a buzzing, squeaky synthesizer that floats in and out of the mix on "Jenny," nearly upending singer Kali Giaritta's best Taylor Swift impersonation.
And the final two remix tracks also aim for the radio. Sadly, Cars & Trains' remix of the Junkies' "Windows Sell the House" (from 2008's One Shoe Over the Cuckoo's Nest) aims to emulate the Postal Service but comes off sounding more like recent teen-pop chart-topper "Fireflies" by Owl City. A blippy ploy to fit in, it comes off as rather pedestrian, with the airy production taking all the tension out of the original, only to replace it with a cheap, computerized heart. Leigh Marble's moody remix of "Dracula" fares slightly better, but again takes the attention away from Giaritta's vocals. As Giaritta sings on the comforting opener, "You are your own blanket/ be warm..." That's a sentiment that doesn't need to hide behind any production tricks.
The Ascetic Junkies release their EP Friday, Dec. 11, at Backspace, with St. Frankie Lee and Bark Hide & Horn. 9 pm. $6. All ages.
WWeek 2015