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The
Receiving End Of Sirens - Boston, MA |
Humans are
extremely complicated organisms made up of
over 10 trillion cells, teeming with neurons
that are constantly communicating via a
series of bright flashes. However, despite
this complexity, there's an emotional
element to us that's less easily definable,
but no less important. Considering all this,
it was apt that The Receiving End Of Sirens
titled their breakthrough debut Between The
Heart And The Synapse. However, with The
Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, they've expanded their
point of view to include not just humans but
the entire universe-and while this scope may
be seam broad, TREOS pull it off via a
stunning collection of narrative songs.
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The Receiving
End Of Sirens were initially formed in 2003
when bassist/vocalist Brendan Brown and
guitarist/vocalist Alex Bars were attending
their freshman year of college in Boston.
"We had played in a band in high school, but
when we went to college, we decided to write
stuff for our hypothetical band just for
fun," Brown explains. After writing together
for two months, the duo recruited guitarist
Nate Patterson and drummer Andrew Cook and
The Receiving End Of Sirens was born. Last
year, the absent role of the third guitarist
was aptly filled by Brian Southall,
cementingthe current and permanent
five-piece lineup. |
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"We've never
clicked the way we have," Brown explains
when asked how he feels about the band's
current incantation. "We knew Brian was a
good guitarist, but we got along from the
beginning so on a personal level we knew
that it would work, too," he continues.
"First and foremost, we were looking for
someone we could live every day of every
tour with-and then from there writing the
music becomes ten times easier, because
writing music with friends is much easier
than writing music with business partners."
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Recorded
February - April 07' at SOMD studios in
Beltsville, Maryland with longtime producer
and friend, Matt Squire (Panic! At The
Disco, Hit The Lights), The Earth Sings Mi
Fa Mi finds the band expanding their sound
and bringing previously peripheral elements
to the forefront. "I think the songs on this
album are a lot more selfless," Brown
explains when asked how he considers the
album a progression from the band's debut.
"Instead of projecting what we wanted onto a
song we just let it sort of play itself out,
so I think there's a lot more space and
groove," he continues. "The idea was that
the song was already out there in outer
space; it was just our job to put the pieces
together." |
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"Smoke and
Mirrors" features a spoken-word
introduction, which is followed up by
soaring melodies, massive guitar riffs and
commanding drums. "A Realization of the
Ear" and "Swallow People Whole" fully
realize the electronic elements that have
always been inherent in the band's sound to
add a new dimension to their seasoned brand
of critically acclaimed music; and the
nearly seven-minute long opus "The Heir Of
Empty Breath" is equal parts climactic and
cathartic and shows the band stretching out
both sonically and spiritually. "This time
around, we were more comfortable with
ourselves as people, and as a band. We had a
few years to figure it out, and when it came
time to write this record, we felt prepared
and confident in what we were doing-and we
hope that shows," says Cook. |
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The title is
the most esoteric part of The Earth Sings Mi
Fa Mi. "When it came to lyrics this time
around I really didn't want things to be as
ambiguous as they have been in the past,"
Brown explains. "I think that our fans are
going to connect on a far more personal
level to these songs because they're a lot
more straight-forward." For example, "The
Salesman, The Husband, The Lover" is the
most narrative account of a fictional story
that Brown wrote about a broken home that
slowly unravels throughout the course of the
album. "A lot my friends grew up with
less-than-ideal family lives and I think
that song encompasses an emotional journey
that they will really be able to relate to,"
Brown says, adding many of the band's fans
also in broken homes and "this song is for
them." |
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However, like
the complex human genome, it's difficult to
categorize exactly where The Receiving End
Of Sirens fit in. "We just think of our band
as a chameleon, because all of our songs are
so different," Brown explains-and the fact
that TREOS have been well-received on tours
alongside everyone from Thrice and Circa
Survive to Paramore and Senses Fail,
confirms this statement. "We're definitely
not a flash-in-the pan band," he continues.
"There are definitely opportunities we could
have taken to get bigger faster, but we want
this to be our career." It's not just lip
service; everything from the band's insane
touring schedule to their energetic live
shows to the attention to detail on their
records reeks of that sentiment.
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