Conjuring Formulas That Work

** 1/2 THE FIREANTS “Self Taught” Wrong Man Records

The specter of punk poet Patti Smith still looms large over in the musical world of Fireants’ songwriter and singer Skie Bender, from her wearied sing-speak delivery to snaking narratives that are more poetry with musical backdrops than pop songs to her frequently obsessive and twisted take on romance.

That means there’ll certainly be no confusing Bender with Gwen Stefani--O.C. alt-rock’s poster girl--but it sets up a challenge for Bender to assert an identity of her own, something she’s only partially successful at.

Still, within the limited musical and lyrical vernacular of punk-based alt-rock, Bender is onto a niche in the vivid images and scenarios she constructs.

The album opener, “Getting a Girl,” is built on ominously thrashing power chords and rumbling bass-drum rhythmic foundation over which Bender wrestles with life outside the mainstream: “I’m getting awkward in this room of dresses,” she sings about being in a wedding party.

Gender and sex roles crop up frequently. In “Jill Renolyds,” she compulsively wonders “Who’s the new girl down the hallway?” and then “Does she have a boyfriend / Does she want a girlfriend?”

The romantic struggle reaches its apex in “Alligator Town,” in which she realizes it’s time to end a combative relationship: “In the evening sun / There’s a change in the light / My days with you are done.” She briefly adopts a British accent as she sings “change in the light,” suddenly conjuring the power of a Johnny Rotten kiss-off.

It is, ironically, her sunniest song, “The Dig,” which starts with the “Gloria” guitar riff, that the Fireants most closely echo Smith and her version of Van Morrison’s forbidden-love classic. Bender shifts gears after the opening homage into a celebration of being in the throes of love. Even there, she frames her counting of the ways she loves thee by noting “When I first met you / Your lung collapsed.”

Even when the sun’s out, O.C.’s renaissance woman (who also painted the album’s artwork) seems to suggest, there’s always a cloud on the horizon.

Available from Firemusic, 8884 Warner Ave., No. 154, Fountain Valley, CA 92708. (714) 848-5355.

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Stan Ridgway, the Fireants and Page 5 play Friday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $15-$17. (949) 496-8930.

Albums are rated on a scale of * (poor) to **** (excellent), with *** denoting a solid recommendation.