The Teeth have been taking Philadelphia by storm, slowly growing into the biggest act from the City Of Brotherly Love by word-of-mouth.
And now, they have similar plans of conquest for Reading.

One of the first steps in that plan takes place Saturday night at 10 when the band plays at the Brass Lantern, 12th and Pike streets. Opening the show on Saturday is Reading's own Blisspuppies.

The Teeth are a unique act, combining pop stylings and rock passion with an experimental edge to create some bizarre and catchy music.

The band features twin brothers Aaron and Peter MoDavis, the former on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards, the latter on lead vocals, bass and keyboards; Brian Ashby on lead guitar, vocals and keyboards; and Christopher Giordani on drums.

They've released one full-length CD 2001's “Send My Regards to the Sunshine” and a second CD with musical friends Raccoon 2003's “Christmas City.”

“Send My Regards to the Sunshine” became an immediate local hit especially among the local musical press, who lauded it (and rightly so) beyond the station of most local acts.

Indeed, much like, say, Bruce Babbitt during his presidential run, The Teeth was cursed by excellent press drawn to intelligence. Only this intelligence shows through in the music. And, contrary to Babbitt, The Teeth have recently graduated from cult status and actually began drawing people to their performances. A lot of people.

Indeed, The Teeth is one of the more popular Philly bands in that city, and they're chomping at the bit (so to speak) to spread further out.

What makes The Teeth interesting is its edginess each instrumentalist switches instruments, depending on the song, making for slightly different styles for each song (as well as some live theater.)

Also, the band can put as much passion into songs that jump with energy and anger as songs that dampen the spirits in exhortations of mortality and, of course (this is rock 'n' roll, after all) lost love.

In other words, The Teeth explore the nether regions of the soul with a certain earnestness and sense of humor. In today's ironic world, well, The Teeth are both ironic and genuine.

Considering their myriad of influences, though, all of this is not entirely surprising. Among the musicians and bands who have touched their own music are The Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The Beatles, Radiohead, Nirvana, The Velvet Underground, Sly Stone and The Kinks. Not a bad apple among them.

Now imagine all of this mixed and matched and played back over the speakers. Add a sense of fun and drive, a youthful confidence and an overwhelming belief in the healing power of music, and you've got some idea of what The Teeth sounds like.

In other words, you're never quite sure what's going to happen.

The guitar moves, sometimes at a frenetic pace, but always melodically, eschewing the more “show-off” ramblings of other bands in the genre.

The music, then, moves, sometimes languidly, sometimes with alacrity, between frantic excursions of desperate rock and soft, romantic and melancholic pining.

If this sounds like meandering, it is. But the meandering has a purpose or, at least, a soul. And the music of The Teeth is both excitingly juvenile and hauntingly wise.

Yes, there is wisdom in The Teeth.