The Epoxies

With Houseguest and Kill the Hippies. Monday, December 2, at the Lime Spider.

Hi & Dry In 2207 West 11th Street 216-357-3020. Hours, Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. (bar stays open later).
The Epoxies' name is no misnomer. Just like glue, the Portland band's new-wave-meets-punk tunes get stuck in one's head. With shredding guitars, bopping keyboards, and the voice of female leader Roxy Epoxy, which shifts from an Exene Cervenka growl to straightforward Missing Persons-style singing, the Epoxies are nothing if not memorable.

And they aren't just writing rehashes, either. As evidenced on the band's self-titled full-length debut, issued this year on Seattle's Dirt Nap Records, the cold, clinical nature of new wave's synthesizers and apathetic vocals takes on the raw energy of punk in a perfect street fight, with one matching the other blow for blow.

Their kitschy fascination with the '80s, which never wears thin on the record, is taken to full tilt live, when the band performs in visor specs, striped shirts, and tights, with skinny ties and electrical tape used as all-purpose accessories. The Epoxies have also been known to play in front of a lit-up sign of the band's name, with strobes, smoke machines, and other special effects adding to the spectacle. It may be hard to take a band seriously that once tried to shower itself and its audience in feathers during a finale, but the Epoxies are one '80s throwback that doesn't belong on a shelf with your Rubik's Cube.

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