While it may be fairly apparent where most bands derive their inspiration, you have to drill deeper to get to the root of The Teeth's challenging music.

The Philly-based group - brothers Aaron and Peter MoDavis on rhythm guitar and bass, respectively, and drummer Chris Giordani and lead guitarist Brian Ashby - combines solid rocking with delicacy, idiosyncratic songwriting with straight-ahead pop appeal.

Those contrasts can be heard on a number of self-released recordings, including the newest, "Send My Regards to the Sunshine," which runs the stylistic gamut from "Ghosts & Goblins'" skewed lounge-pop to the dissonant, mod rave-ups of "When Someone Hits You" and "That is Why."

But it's in a live setting, such as Saturday night's show at Bethlehem's Tally Ho and regular appearances at The Funhouse, that The Teeth get a real chance to shine. Meandering melodies, stream-of-consciousness lyricizing and subversive guitar lines all unite in a nervous energy fueled by the group's unwavering confidence in its infectiously twisted vision.

Though known to do a spot-on version of The Who's mini-opera "A Quick One While He's Away," a clue to their ebb-and-flow compositional techniques, The Teeth remain defiantly original, giving almost anyone who hears them a real reason to smile.