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In Remembrance: The Receiving End Of Sirens

Once loud for all to hear, they have since quietly extinguished.

Straight out of Boston, this week we have post-hardcore troupe, The Receiving End of Sirens.  Formed in 2003 after the demise of several less successful New England bands, The Receiving End of Sirens started to gain a small following after some localized touring and the release of two short demos.  However, after an internal disagreement about the direction of the band in relation to the band signing with their first record label, then lead vocalist, Ben Potrykus, decided to leave the group in late 2003. 

The addition of new vocalist/guitarist, Casey Crescenzo in early 2004 brought a renewed spark back into the band.  With Crescenzo’s arrival, the group began featuring a three-tiered vocal lineup.  Shortly after this line up change, the group also released a new self-titled EP.  The Receiving End of Sirens EP caught the attention of New York label, Triple Crown Records, who later signed with the band. 

2005 saw the release of the group’s first full-length album, Between the Heart and the Synapse.  With the help of acclaimed producer, Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco, The Maine, and Saosin), Between the Heart and the Synapse easily helped the band secure a growing following.  Two of the singles from this album, “Planning a Prison Break” and “This Armistice” received affair amount of airtime and were played fairly regularly on MTVU and Fuse.  The album also featured numerous guest appearances, including Anthony Green and the band Driving in Silence.

Shortly after the release of Between the Heart and the Synapse, vocalist Casey Crescenzo decided to leave the group in order to devote more of his time and energy to his increasingly popular side project, The Dear Hunter.  His decision was made after months of exhaustive touring in support of their new album.  In Casey’s absence the band continued to tour nationally with the likes of Circa Survive while recruiting fill-in musicians as needed. 

In November of 2006, while just beginning to write their upcoming album, the group recruited guitarist Brian Southall as the band’s newest fulltime member.  On their newest album the band decided to let fans take a closer look at their writing process, utilizing an online video diary that included input from each member and clips of songs as they were being recorded.  The band also out forth some effort to explain the newest album’s inspiration and storyline. 

The title for The Receiving End of Siren’s second studio album, The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, refers to a theory of astronomical tonality in our solar system and other celestial bodies.  In this theory, which was the work of 16^th century astronomer, Johannes Kepler, due to the Earth’s orbit in relation to Venus and the Sun, it would periodically shift it’s tonality from a major 6^th to the minor 6^th and back again.  Kepler further theorized (utter bullshit) that this singing of “Mi Fa Mi,” the vocalizations of this tonal shift, could an abbreviation of Misery, Famine, Misery, and that this was ultimately the Earth’s song.

Thankfully, those reviewing the album were more concerned with the album’s music than it’s storyline or inspiration, as the album soon received extremely positive reviews.  For The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, the band once again enlisted the help of producer Matt Squire and the album eventually peaked at #15 on the Top Independent Albums list. 

In March 2008, less than a year after the release of The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, vocalist and bass guitarist, Brendan Brown announced via MySpace that The Receiving End of Sirens would be breaking up shortly, his reasoning being the birth of his first son. 

The band performed their official final show on May 2, 2008 with Crescenzo joining the band halfway through their extended set; however, they also played two smaller shows under the pseudonym The Red Eye of Soromon later that week. 

Since the breakup, Crescenzo has achieved limited success with his band, The Dear Hunter.  Replacement guitarist Brian Southall has gone on to join post-hardcore supergroup Isles & Glaciers.  The group has also confirmed that they are planning a reunion show in 2010 as part of Skate Fest in Worcester, MA which Crescenzo will be involved with.

Posted by Andrew Scott on Jan 04, 2010 @ 9:00 am