http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFFygwEXqF0

Check out this recent Romantica interview in Milwaukee's best new arts magazine. ALT- Magazine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGqtd2mYf3c

"The National Side" is a winner in this year's International Songwriting Competition!
The New York Times calls the ISC, "THE songwriting competition to take note of."
Judges this year include Tom Waits, Robert Smith, Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Macy Gray and Frank Black among others.
You can vote for "The National Side" in the Peoples Voice Competition HERE....
"The National Side" took 1st place in the Americana category

He might be originally from Northern Ireland, but songwriter Ben Kyle chose the title of his latest album well: Romantica's sweetly sad country-rock, awash in pedal steel, fiddle, and lovely Gram Parsons-esque melodies, is purely this side of the Atlantic. Even when Kyle sings about his family's emigration to the U.S. in "The National Side" it's not accompanied by Celtic instrumentation, but a wall of sprightly Tex-Mex horns. Melancholy and extreme sports aren't usually found together as major themes, but Kyle makes them work, eulogizing snowboarder Craig Kelly (who died in an avalanche in 2003) on "La Traviada" and mourning the death of a Mexican bandit in "Ixcatan."
- Christopher Bahn, The Onion


Few albums released locally this year are capable of garnering such widespread appreciation as Romantica's America. With lush string arrangements and delicate vocal melodies, Romantica appeal just as much to the Cities 97 crowd as they do to alt-country aficionados and folk revivalists, a testament to lead singer Ben Kyle's dexterous songwriting. From the up-tempo shuffle of "National Side" to the Springsteen-channeling slow-burner "Ixcatan," Kyle is adept at writing narrative lyrics and expressing sensitivity without turning on the cheese or being overtly poetic, making America beautiful in its simplicity.
- Andrea Myers, City Pages


Anyone wondering why Ireland native Ben Kyle named his band's second album after his adopted country will get it by CD's end. The music is Americana to the bone, with tasteful bits of piano, accordion and violin (Jessy Greene's) applied to his wistful, BoDeans/Ryan Adams-style twang-pop. Kyle's Irishness bleeds into his wounded-poet lyrics.
- Chris Riemenschneider, Minneapolis Star Tribune


Miss the Jayhawks? Think Gram Parsons could do no wrong? Long for a touch of pre-migraine Wilco? Then belly up to the bar for a taste of Romantica, led by Irish immigrant Ben Kyle and featuring moody, lilting Irish-American tales sweetened by the moving pedal steel of Eric Heywood. Inspirational verse: "I've tried to live my life / Between the platter and the knife / Between my daughter and my wife / Is where you'll find me" from "How To Live in A Modern World". Pick to click: imagine Ryan Adams fronting Calexico for a lament of dashed dreams and hopeful schemes on "The National Side".
- Trip McClatchy, Teenage Kicks


Nice low-key Americana from a Minneapolis band with subtlety and skill on its side.
- Ken Barnes, USA Today

Romantica - AMERICA slides in at 58! in PASTE magazine's picks for the year. Read the list....

Wow!

A few days ago, Romantica's Ben Kyle played a show opening for Ryan Adams & the Cardinals. Ryan was in a good mood that evening and joined Ben on stage to perform an unreleased Romantica song. Check it out!

~Romantica~

PASTE magazine gave the new Album "America" 4 Stars in their latest issue..."For anyone worrying that the Americana genre has become a repository of the bad irony of hipsters and has-been quackeries, fear not: Romantica is here to save the day. Singer and songwriter Ben Kyle is the latest in a long line of European exports to reinvigorate a genre by reclaiming it as his own: "God walks on the water, I walk through the rain." With one foot still in the his home country, one taking a tentative step into the mess of promises and disappointments on the other side of the pond, he and his band mates dust off the brilliance at the heart of America. Most albums with such ambitious titles fall flat in the attempt; Kyle, in songs and voice that sit comfortably between Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams, dwells comfortably in the long shadows cast by his forefathers while leaving his own undeniable stamp on the proceedings."
Listen to Romantica on the Paste Culture Club Podcast.

Romantica's Jessy Greene is playing cello & violin with the Foo Fighters!

From the Star Tribune:
Jessy Greene has gotten herself a choice new gig: The Minneapolis singer/violinist just finished a U.K. tour playing strings with none other than the Foo Fighters, and she expects to tour with them through next year.

"It has been one life-changing summer," said Greene, who landed the job through a longtime friendship with Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffe (also now playing with the Foo). She hit the ground running with an appearance at the V Festival and two big shows with Nine Inch Nails.

"Rehearsals were few and kind of stressful, but once I got out onstage with the band, everything felt great. They are all really awesome people. And they rock!"

Dave Grohl and Co. heavily incorporated strings on the last Foo album, "Skin and Bones," and apparently they feature them again on their upcoming release, "Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace" (Sept. 25).