Palefighter: Swan Dive Bomb Written by Gage Norris for The Wire From the opening notes of “Swan Dive Bomb,” with the lead track “We’ll Crush You With All That We Are,” it’s hard to believe that singer-songwriter Matthew Carano started the band while playing guitar in the rock-rap group Solid8. This is anything but rap. The guitar’s tone during the intro sounds something like the righteous distortion effect used by Pete Townshend on The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” You can almost picture Carano windmilling each chord change into existence. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Palefighter doesn’t fit under The Who’s genre heading. The song fluctuates between pulsing rock grooves during the verses and poppy, Third Eye Blind-ish melodies during the choruses. Carano’s voice is difficult to place, sometimes leaning toward a melancholy Peter Gabriel sound while also pulling off pitch changes that you’d most often hear in a Broadway tune, and often altered by a stadium echo effect. At other times, however, the vocals reminisce of Limp Bizkit—an intriguing mixture of styles. Palefighter demonstrates a wide range of sounds throughout the album, proving that it’s perfectly comfortable with most any tempo and level of intensity, and capable of blending these into compositions. From “SoLow,” an acoustic guitar waltz with synth pads in the background, to “Drive On Empty,” an intricate interplay of guitar melodies with an almost Middle-Eastern feel, the members of Palefighter compliment each other’s parts and make each song entirely different from the last. The variety continues with the quiet, contemplative “Song for a Wedding” straight into “The Barbarian Invasion,” which is driving and heavy but still melodic, especially when Robert Ziminsky joins Carano with harmonies for his vocal part. A few songs even make use of electronic drumbeats integrated seamlessly with a real acoustic set, perhaps harkening back a bit to Carano’s rap group experience. But, few bands can manage an entire album without reusing a little of the same style and material, and Palefighter is no exception. Parts of “Scarface” sound a lot like segments from a few preceding tracks, and the final song, “The Light Fantastic,” is yet another acoustic guitar waltz, the album’s third. But, while the album ends on a somewhat redundant note, Palefighter is good at these slow, floating tunes. It’s not surprising that the members chose to write more than one. Overall, “Swan Dive Bomb” lives up to its MySpace claim: “as explosive and exact as its title denotes.” Palefighter provides a great mix of rock, ambient and acoustic styles coupled with complex and often cryptic lyrics. The album is set to be released this fall. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/palefightermusic or www.palefighter.com.