Saliva: 50 Best Songs From Their Career (So Far)

By Ryan N. Glenn /

7. "Always" - Back Into Your System

Saliva was never a band that writes music made of sunshine and daises. Their talent to write impassioned songs is only part of the central puzzle that is part of the band. From time to time, they deliver a song so dark and compelling that it teases our minds enough to wonder just what exactly it is that Saliva is trying to tell us. "Always" is Saliva's darkest, most deeply idiosyncratic song to date. The way in which Scott describes the situation of someone questioning their significant other and questioning themselves is so involving and darkly told that we, as the listeners, are forced to wonder just what is going on inside Scott's head. The true darkness of "Always" lies near the end of the song; the beginning sings the usually contemplation of relationships, unhappiness, and happiness, but the end is where things are put into a forced perspective of dread and shock: "I see the blood all over your hands, does it make you feel more like a man? Was it all just a part of your plan? The pistol shaking in my hands, and all I hear is the sound." That final bit of the song is synoptic of something quite scary: determining whether or not the singer has, in fact, pulled off an act of murder on his former lover, for whatever reason. Saliva has written dark material before, but "Always" will remain their greatest achievement in trekking dark territory.