Planning A Prison Break: On ‘Between the Heart and the Synapse’, The Receiving End Of Sirens rewrote all the rules of post-hardcore

Let’s get this out of the way now – Between the Heart and the Synapse, the 2005 debut record from post-hardcore band The Receiving End Of Sirens, was a true revelation upon release. In 2005, plenty of post-hardcore bands were attempting to rewrite copies of albums like Full Collapse and The Illusion Of Safety, and while that’s not a bad thing (those records remain highly influential today), few bands were re-writing the rules of post-hardcore quite like TREOS. While the band lasted just two albums, TREOS made their mark on the music scene by layering their music better than just about any other band out there at the time. Many of the progressive post-hardcore bands that play with experimentation take some influence from this album.

This album’s layering is important to note, specifically because of how off the charts the replay value is. Filled with electronic flourishes, multiple vocalists, and genre-blurring music with a post-hardcore foundation, TREOS was never the type of band to avoid taking chances. There’s even some pop-punk influence in the choruses, but that influence also never sounds silly or tacked-on for commercial acceptance. Opening up with the band’s iconic (and first actual) track “Planning A Prison Break”, the poetic and lyrically-driven song really sets the tone for the rest of the record. Yet, it’s also not a top-heavy record – it’s remarkably consistent the whole way through, and is truly meant to be listened to as an entire album, not a collection of singles.

“We’re all marionettes.”

The triple vocal harmonies are an integral part of what makes this album special. So too, are the many subjects tackled throughout. War, life and death, even fucking Romeo And Juliet all get a turn here. It’s hard not to find such ambition extremely impressive. Also a fun fact: this is where The Dear Hunter’s Casey Crescenzo made a name for himself, both on vocals as well as guitar, piano, and even the electric sitar. Class, really.

If the pure passion of “This Armistice” doesn’t reel you in, the frantic ending of “Broadcast Quality” surely will. Between the Heart and the Synapse, at the end of the day, is post-hardcore with a progressive mindset and a willingness to break barriers. Very few bands were adept at adding such interesting electronic flourishes and complicated songwriting into their music. It’s not hard to imagine why TREOS weren’t far bigger – most didn’t know quite what to make of an album and a unique sound like this. Post-hardcore with progressive rock dynamics and curveballs at every turn? Music was not quite ready for a band and an album like this. The 70+ minute runtime may ward some off, but don’t let that stop you from giving this essential record some love. It remains a highly influential and remarkable piece of music, even today.