Hungry for radio-friendly pop? Boston quartet Angry Salad will be tossing plenty of tasty hooks to rock fans Monday night at the Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave.

The band formed at Brown University in Providence, R.I., in 1991. After winning a radio station's contest for new bands in 1993, the members of Angry Salad headed for Boston. There they honed their sound into what it is today, a mix of equal parts Matchbox 20 and Vertical Horizon.

Angry Salad frontman Bob Whelan says his band was named by none other than Queen's late frontman, Freddie Mercury.

As Whelan explains it, he and his brother sat at a bar and batted around potential band names while vacationing in the Virgin Islands. A fellow patron called out across the bar and demanded they choose the name "Angry Salad." The brothers looked to see who was shouting, says Whelan, and there sat Mercury.

Angry Salad is touring in support of its self-titled major-label debut, which was released on May 25 this year.

The album is essentially a remix of the band's 1999 demo tape, Bizarre Gardening Accident. Tom Lord Alge, who has also mixed recordings for Barenaked Ladies and Blink 182, did the mixing.

The first single from Angry Salad is "The Milkshake Song," which has achieved some success on radio thanks in part to misinterpretation of its lyrics.

The song's chorus is "She gave me a milkshake and a kiss; I don't need a whole lot more." Whelan claims the lyrics should be taken literally. He says they refer to a time when a girlfriend broke up with him and gave him a kiss and a cold, blended drink as a goodbye gift.

But fans have been e-mailing the band, he says, to say they believe that "milkshake" is a sexual pun. Whelan says anyone who interprets the song that way is mistaken.

Although "The Milkshake Song" is the only single from Angry Salad to break through to radio, another track on the album should be instantly familiar to listeners. Angry Salad has recorded its own version of Nena's "99 Red Balloons," an '80s pop hit, and included it on the album.

Angry Salad's only major-label release is its new self-titled album, but the band's discography also includes an EP, The Guinea Pig.

The band released the EP itself, which eventually charted on the CMJ Top 200 for six weeks. The EP also earned Angry Salad a nomination for Best New Album at the Boston Music Awards.

In addition to its concert Monday evening, Angry Salad is scheduled to perform on the air for local radio station WGMR, 101.1 FM, at 4 p.m.

The Buzz Poets are slated to open Monday's all-ages show at 8 p.m. at the Crowbar.