Romance —The Divide

{7.8}

Buy it!

{Thin-Lipped Music}

{Performing at The Funhouse on Friday, May 8th and the Lo-Fi on May 22nd with a DJ set by Andy Rourke, bassist of The Smiths.}

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.

-Andrew Boe, May 05, 2009

or check it out online here

Thanks Three Imaginary Girls.. and Andrew Boe!

We're really happy to announce that Geoffrey Christopher has joined Romance and will be playing keyboards with us! Geoffrey has played in Infomatik and curently plays in Razrez as well.  We're all really excited about the new Romance sound! Come check it out as we'll be playing our first show with him this Friday May 8th @ The Funhouse in Seattle.