ROMANCE

We're really honored that Rolling Stone Magazine (Russia) chose our song "Killer In The World" from the album The Divide, as their top featured track for this month!

They wrote up a great piece on us as well. It's all in Russian, but trust us it says Romance will be the next big thing ;) - Rolling Stone

Fans of Joy Division, Bauhaus, and Echo & the Bunnymen should take a moment to check out today's Song of the Day, "Face on the Sun," by Seattle band Romance. Formed in late 2005, Romance has been making waves in the underground post-punk music scene since their debut EP, When Things Are Better. They were named one of the top up and coming bands of 2006 by The Stranger and received generous airplay by DJs at KEXP and beyond. Following the success of their debut, the band took two years off before releasing their first full-length, 2008's The Divide, which features mostly new material. When asked about why it took so long, frontman Drew Jackson admits they released their EP really quickly after forming and wanted to take some time to solidify their sound and work on who they were as a band before heading back into the studio. It was time well spent. Each song on The Divide is cohesive and shows their care and determination to explore the genre without stepping on the heels of their predecessors. In addition to their new album, Romance also lent a track to Post-Punk.com's Notes from the Underground Vol. 3 along with other such modern post-punk luminaries as The Editors, The Futureheads, and VHS or Beta among others.
http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2009/01/02/song-of-the-day-romance-face-on-the-sun/ - kexp.org

A quick perusal of Romance's influences lets you know right away that this is a band who has taste. Bauhaus, Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen, and a slew of other greats are welcome names dropped here. A short listen to any of Romance's songs shows that they are seriously following the precendent established by those great bands. They aren't simply rehashing those sounds, either; this is clearly the foremost band to mix modern indie sensibility with the better sounds from the 80s. Fall in love with Romance! - DJ Josh

The Divide is the debut full-length album by Romance, a Seattle group with a characteristic post-punk sound that is unlike most local acts. They have toured extensively over the past few years and even opened for The Sisters of Mercy in November at El Corazon. Featuring solid production to boot, this LP reflects a well honed selection of songs that are impressively strong.

Working as a full album experience, The Divide, is a seamless assortment of songs that are strung together with precise cohesion. Elements of both old and new bands are present in this recording. Singer Drew Jackson's vocals are similar to those of Paul Banks from Interpol and Romance's music is at times reminiscent of them and at other times resembles the early eighties sound of groups such as Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division and The Chameleons.

With driving drums and guitar taking the forefront in the mix, Romance storms their way through eleven consistent tracks on The Divide. "The Order" is a standout that sounds like Public Image meets Siouxsie and the Banshees while "Face on the Sun" is another memorable song that is at once catchy and edgy. In fact, there are several songs here that combine these features, giving the record some serious potential to make an impact outside of the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/recordreview/2009may/thedivide - Three Imaginary Girls

Romance's debut album THE DIVIDE recalls many of the sweet spots of post-punk hits from the late '70s and early "80s. The band cites its main influences as bands from that time and uses them to great effect. This Seattle band has the gyrating rhythms of Gang Of Four, the cascading guitars of Joy Division and the gothis vocals of Sisters Of Mercy tinged with a little bit of Peter Murphy. It's not exactly a new sound and a close, modern approximation might be something like Franz Ferdinand with more gothic overtones and less pop appeal; however, the Divide is brimming with a tried and true sound that will certainly appeal to anyone familiar with any of the aforementioned bands. The top tracks on the album are the ones that best combine the band's disparate influences into a whole. "Killer in the World" has a dance-heavy beat that is coupled with a dark lyricism to create a tune that would get even the most forlorn Goth kid moving. Andrew Barbelith
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&bID=488924674 - soundnw.com

"Bringing the sense of danger and rock adrenaline back to dark dance music, Romance combines the psychedelic fluidity of early punk/Goth bands with the intensity of current hard-edged indie rock." - webzine

"Their goth-stained dance punk is damn catchy....harks back to the era of the delightfully lurid dance floor like nothing since "Temple of Love."
The Stranger - Seattle weekly paper

"... I press play and lose the ground beneath me. There I am again, back in the clutches of Carl McCoy, Porl King, and Peter Murphy....this is one of the best albums I've ever heard. No I mean, ever. As in, "Are you sure the year's right on this disc?"
Lunar Hypnosis Webzine - webzine

"...I hear real interesting song changes and choruses and a myriad of sublte parts intermingling. It seems totally urban sounding like desolate city streets in urgent turmoil. This rocks!"
Gravyzine - webzine

Joy Division, Gang Of Four, Echo and The Bunnymen... do these bands mean anything to your hipster self? Well then you must be under a rock, cuz these bands made their mark on the world a big second time around thanks to bands like Romance. Not to say these guys from Seattle don't have their own sound - Romance's goth-y new wave-ish frontal assault would tear any dancefloor apart. "Paris Is Burning" is the track of the moment, and it's hot. - webzine