Between the Heart and the Synapse

Bassist Brendan Brown and guitarist Alex Bars formed The Receiving End of Sirens during their first year of college at Northeastern University in 2003.[1][2] The pair, who first started playing music together in their high school band Settle for Nothing,[3] soon brought in guitarist Nate Patterson, drummer Andrew Cook,[2] and vocalist Ben Potrykus.[4] They played their first show together in March of that year,[5] and embarked on a brief tour with Hidden in Plain View in August.[6] As the band's success increased, Cook, Brown, and Bars elected not to continue their studies.[1]

In November 2003, Potrykus, uncomfortable with signing to major label Atlantic Records and with the prospect of abandoning his studies at Emerson College, left the band,[4] and Casey Crescenzo was hired as his replacement in January 2004.[7] In October, the band signed to independent label Triple Crown Records to record their debut full-length record, set to be released between March and April 2005.[8]

The band began 2005 on a US tour with As Tall as Lions and Cartel.[23] Between the Heart and the Synapse was released on April 26, 2005 via Triple Crown Records.[24] To promote the album, the band went on a US headlining tour in April and May,[25] including an appearance at the Flipside Festival.[26] This was followed by a three-week stint in May and June with Gatsbys American Dream and the Rocket Summer,[27] and two shows at the Vans Warped Tour.[25] After Warped Tour, the band joined Acceptance, Cartel, and Panic! at the Disco on the Take Cover tour[28] in September and October.[29] In November, they toured with Alexisonfire, and later played a few shows with Saves the Day and Senses Fail.[28]

A music video for "Planning a Prison Break," was posted online on September 20, 2005.[28] This was followed by a video for "This Armistice," which was filmed in February 2006 in Somers, Connecticut. Crescenzo directed the video for "This Armistice," and Brown called his former school principal, who in turn contacted the Recreation Department, to get permission to film in Somers.[16] The video, which debuted on MTV2 and MTVu in April, depicted Adrian Amodeo, the band's manager, walking through a series of doors before passing through the final one, where the band is performing for a crowd of students.[16]

After filming the "This Armistice" video, the band performed on the 2006 Taste of Chaos tour.[30] In March 2006, Bars fell down a flight of stairs, where he suffered a scapular fracture, three fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and damaged vertebrae.[31] In spite of this, the band chose not to cancel their spring headlining tour,[32] with support from A Thorn for Every Heart, As Tall as Lions, the Blackout Pact, Yesterdays Rising, My American Heart, I am the Avalanche, and Hit the Lights.[33] In May 2006, they played at The Bamboozle festival in New Jersey.[34]

On May 21, 2006, Crescenzo left the band, citing "many factors, personal and creative."[35] He was temporarily replaced by a friend,[35] with Brown and Bars handling vocal duties for the remainder of the year.[36] Over the summer, the band supported Boys Night Out on their headlining Canadian tour[37] and Circa Survive on their US headlining tour.[38] Following this, they toured the UK with Fightstar,[35] and performed on the MTV2 Dollar Bill Tour[39] in October and November.[40] Cody Bonnette of As Cities Burn filled Crescenzo's role for three months,[41] and was replaced by Brian Southall of Boys Night Out,[42] formerly the band's touring manager.[36] A music video for "The Evidence" was released on January 22, 2007.[43] Between the Heart and the Synapse was released on vinyl in 2010, with a bonus track titled "Weightless Underwater"[44] and new artwork from Matt Adams, who was inspired by the original while he was in college.[45]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
IGN	7.8/10[12]
Melodic	[13]
Punknews.org	[9]
Sputnikmusic	5/5[14]

Between the Heart and the Synapse was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. Sputnikmusic staff member Rowan5215 found it difficult to "nail down just what makes [it] such a goddamn great record," and praised the "amazingly co-ordinated and fierce" vocal harmonies, with each member "shining in their respective rights," while still "working as a flawless part of the team."[14] AllMusic reviewer Bret Love wrote that it was "a pretty rare thing" to discover an act with an original sound, while proclaiming the band's genre-bending as "an engaging aural assault that is uniquely their own."[11] He complimented producer Matt Squire for doing an "impressive job of capturing" the guitar work in a "crisp, clean mix that ensures not a single detail goes unnoticed."[11] JR of IGN wrote that the band was "invested with a capacity for intriguing songwriting and an undeniable musicianship ... The music itself defies comprehensive description."[12] He was also astounded by the varying mix of genres, saying that "the sound is too ethereal, too uniquely nuanced."[12]

Some criticism was levied at the album's length. Punknews.org staff member Brian Shultz gave credit to the band's "potential and likewise developing talent," but considered Between the Heart and the Synapse "a tad overambitious for a debut," even if the band was able "to keep your attention intact for the disc's duration."[9] Kaj Roth of Melodic, meanwhile, decried the album as adding "nothing new to the genre," and declared that "70 minutes is way too long for any emo band."[13]

Track listing per booklet.[18]

Personnel per booklet.[18]

• Between the Heart and the Synapse at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)