SYN{A}PSE

SYN(A)PSE connects its listeners to a violently cathartic and commiserate psychic state through driving chord progressions and affrontations of monolithic noise. The Canadian metal alternative battery arms itself with ample musical competence and confessional lyricality. The band lists the likes of Thrice, Tool, and Alexisonfire as influences, but Metallica, Foo Fighters, and other purveyors of melodical metal and groove-laden grunge are further affectors of this oceanfront quartet’s hot-blue aesthetic. In their album Auditory Complex, instrumentation is loud but precise, the lyrics sentimental but honest, and SYN(A)PSE’s aberrant energy enforces a commanding respect and attention in the listener.

The first song, “Intro”, is really that rather than a fully fleshed-out song, setting the motif for the blend of power and sensitivity of due experience. The song begins and concludes with the sound of rainfall, the wordless instrumental expressing the cool melancholy that reflects the band’s British Columbian environs. The natural world plays a significant role in SYN(A)PSe’s music, although the band’s tendency towards the rocking clash of industrial explosion seems to counter the serenity of their bucolic lyrical personality.

“Downfall” is the stuff of wounds, its vulnerable vocal expression and lyrics telling of some sort of victimization. A sense of hurt and rage chide in this account of some tormenting oppressor, as vengeful bass-drum combinations crawl underneath considerable vocal strata, in the lyrical plaint, “You’re a sad little man you know…”, and “So try and break me down, or make you feel nothing…kill the pain, or make you feel something.” “Under A Sea of Lies” begins with the rise of a public emergency siren, creating a sense of alarm and possible doom before launching into a battlement of social protest. The song is fine, showcasing the band’s ability to alternate ripping thrash jettings with softer melodic bufferings, but the song should be compressed, saying all it has to say a good minute before the song is over. “Structures”, with depression being the reliable Muse of poets throughout the ages, is the most lyrically interesting song on the album. Though the vocals drag a bit, the anxiety of mental torment disturbingly enters in the first line, “This blessing comes with a catch.” “This darkness inside me grows every day” indicates the fear of losing perhaps a previously repaired mental state, collapsing in the sickening realization, “Down go these structures I’ve built inside my head.”

“I Go Alone” is where we begin to hear the formation of what could become SYN(A)PSE’s signature sound. Up to this point, the tight and melodic metal influences of Thrice and Metallica were the major influences heard. In “I Go Alone”, a driving, powerful, and rhythmic groove underlays tender vocalization reminiscent of a Foo Fighters arrangement. SYN(A)PSE is a technically-exact band, and they should be proud of that, but the presence of a groove such as that which they introduce in the song is crucial to making the band not merely good, but also likable. “Into the Dusk” forays into the realm of lyric nature poetry, but unexpectedly escalates into a rage perhaps against the disturbance of nature with the crowding chant, “Our souls worth it to feel the loneliness!”, promoting the appreciation of created reality, even if the consequence is increased solitude.

It’s in “Phoenix”, the best song of the album, that the array of the band’s qualities are most justified. The song begins lyrically intense and spare with, “Don’t come too close, the fire in my soul, sets you and I ablaze.” There is indeed fire in the song, and a sitar sound lends a sort of mystery to the hypnotizing drone of dual guitarwork. “Phoenix” is a thoroughly developed song, with a complete dramatic structure of introduction, build, climax, and resolution. The best of the band’s influences come to the forefront in a fusion that represents the band’s own style, and Noah Edwards’ vocals not only cooperate, but actively marry into the life of the instrumentation, employing the efficiency of litany in the chant, “We’ll burn our hate away, we’ll burn our fear away, we’ll burn our trust away, we’ll burn it all away.” The song follows through to the end with relevance, justifying precisely its length, with the various changes within the song’s theme fitting the whole.

SYN(A)PSE is doing its job as a band, and doing it well, with conviction in a masculine ethos. SYN(A)PSE knows they’re good, their fans know they’re good, and you know they’re good, so sign ‘em! This Canadian import is a good investment.

Artist: Syn{a}pse
Album Name: Auditory Complex
Release Date:
Genre(s): Alternative, Progressive-Rock
Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Band Member(s): Noah Edwards (Vocals and Guitar), Justin Lee (Guitar), Jacob Redlin (Drums) and James Gibson (Bass)
Website Link: http://soundofsynapse.com/
Myspace Link: - indiemusicreviewer.com