Romantica – The National Side
By no means new, 2008’s The National Side by Americana aficionados, Romantica, is steeped in home spun goodness. It has a bit of a Spanish flair, with the use of mariachi band like horn section. If you close your eyes and listen, I think you can imagine 1950’s American street scenes.
Based out of Minneapolis, MN, Romantica doesn’t seem to be terribly active these days, which is a shame. Lead singer Ben Kyle is an Irish transplant to the US and he brings with him just a taste of Europe. For instance, listen for the lyric line in this song that talks about the FA Cup, a reference to the English men’s football tournament which is a fixture in Europe.
You can find out a bit about Romantica by visiting their web site, which contains store links for CD’s among other things. It also contains band member links to their own web sites which may turn up even more gems. The band has social links as well, best found by visiting their Reverbnation link. Check out this band, and consider a purchase.