Saliva If you like your rock equal parts glam rock, hair- and nu-metal (and these people do exist – ever lived in Myrtle Beach?), then you’ll spit your pants over Saliva. Signed by former Island Records head Lyor Cohen as his token rock act about a decade back, the Memphis-based band and WWE entrance music perennial has persevered (to some extent – the band’s latest record never broke the Top 100) by doing what they do best – blend in. Singer Josey Scott’s mostly the draw here, with a nice voice that’s an equal mix muscular snarl and freaky falsetto. Their latest, Cinco Diablo, is pretty much more of the same, featuring songs like “Hunt You Down,” “Judgment Day,” “I’m Coming Back,” and any number of other tracks that wouldn’t strike fear into the heart of even the lamest of Vince McMahon’s tomato cans. Amos’ SouthEnd (Timothy C. Davis)

The Physics of Meaning The cool thing about Durham-based TPOM is they don’t dwell in one musical location for long, but that doesn’t mean the songs are all over the map. They can take a chapter out of the Nirvana book, and follow it up with a folk-pop tune, a chamber music piece and dissonance-laden rock. The band twists and turns but doesn’t veer off course and keeps the mood within the confines of a composed pop number. With LA Tool & Die and Use Your Inside Voices. The Milestone (Samir Shukla)

This article appears in Mar 24-31, 2009.

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