"Smokin' cigarettes and fingers goin' up their nose" - The Epoxies

While she may not know it just yet, Roxy Epoxy of the Epoxies is my future wife. Really, how could she do any better than to snag me? I'm a catch in the way Jim Norton is a catch, which is to say I'm more entertaining than virile or smell-free. How could she not want a husband that wants to make Turbonegro the godfathers of our brood?

But even if we never engage in the contemptible act of wedlock, the Epoxies will still be one of my favorite current bands, both live and on record. Rather than just being part of the snoozer Renewed Wave that spawned losers like the Bravery or the Killers, the Epoxies borrowed bits from Devo and early Blondie (aka before Debbie Harry started tripping balls and thought she could rap) and molded them into something modern. Their paranoid brand of electro pop-punk is never less than entertaining and utterly danceable. I almost never boogie at shows (I'm too drunk and lazy), but the Epoxies always make me into a rug cutter, as it were.

Bowing in 2001 with the "Need More Time" single (presented here in its re-recorded version), the Epoxies already showed their strengths, which consisted in large part of FM Static's squealing synths and Epoxy's vaguely yodel-based vocalizing. It didn't hurt that the songs were catchy as fuck or that they did a killer job covering "Beat My Guest," originally done by Adam and the Ants.

2002 saw two great releases from the group: the "Synthesized" single (also presented in a rerecorded version) and their self-titled debut album, both released on Northwest indie Dirtnap Records. The record was solid and full of killer songs ("Bathroom Stall," "We're So Small," "You," "Cross My Heart"), but the thin production prevented a lot of the numbers from going to that next level. However, Dirtnap had problems keeping the album in print, sales were that brisk.

After touring a ridiculous amount and building up a fairly large audience (for the punk scene), they did what all bands championed by Mitch Clem do - they signed to Fat Wreck for their next record. Three years after their last album, 2005 saw the release of Stop The Future, a record that was amazing in every single way. The sound is full, layered, and everyone involved sounds tighter and more powerful than ever before. I seriously want to post the whole album. "Radiation," "No Interest," "Wind Me Up," "Toys," "You Kill Me," "This Day," and their cover of "Robot Man" all go OFF, so pick it up post-haste if you don't have it.

They have an EP coming out that promises to be killer, and supposedly the group will be recording a new record here pretty soon, so color me super fuckin' stoked for that shit. You should be too.

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/7998258/Epoxies_Need_More_Time.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/4044607/Epoxies_Synthesized.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/9049238/Epoxies_Cross_My_Heart.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/322307/Epoxies_Bathroom_Stall.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/8216095/Epoxies_Radiation.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/1987864/Epoxies_No_Interest.mp3.html