When former guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Casey Crescenzo left Boston experimental post-hardcore band The Receiving End of Sirens in 2006 , he took with him a strong leading voice, elaborate concept-based lyrics, and a crunching heaviness musically.
With all that wind taken from their sails, TREOS ended up not pushed up against the rocks, but exploring new lands. Their first record without Crescenzo, 2007's The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, opens up to a more atmospheric and ambient sound. Although neither vocalist/guitarist Alex Bars nor vocalist/bassist Brendan Brown stand out, their vocals swirl together more smoothly provide a unified, equal sound. This blending balance plays out musically too, as effects-laden guitar lines and expertly-laided electronics that pulse, twinkle, and slither into an abstractly beautiful soundscape.
Much like the charging anthemic "Planning A Prison Break" set the course for their debut 2005's Between the Heart and the Synapse (a personal favorite), "Swallow People Whole" showcases this new musical approach. For people looking for BTHATS version 2.0, look no further than the audio beatdown of "Smoke and Mirrors", titling drive of "Oubliette (Disappear)" and colorful bleeping of "Saturnus".
But their venture into the dense waters of musical dreamscaping is where the true gems are. Begin with the aptly-titled "A Realization of the Ear" and "Music of the Spheres" that plays like an ethereal music box relation back to the albums loose basing on Johannes Kepler's theory of orbital music. Dual epic closers "Heir of Empty Breath" and "Pale Blue Dot" close out the album as the band leaves at the paramount of their potential.
In the end TREOS' farewell album (the band broke up in 2008) show a band who everyone told was done quietly prove the haters wrong. They maintained writing some of the best melodies out, while growing musically all without The Dear Hunter's braintrust. Good on 'em.
Buy The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi
The Receiving End of Sirens MySpace
"They have my wool, they have my locks, my voice they cannot.."
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