In recent years, Romance has been seen as an overlooked record in several genres. In a 2010 Drowned in Sound article, Robert Cooke glowingly wrote of its place in the post-punk & new wave revivals occurring at its time of release. He wrote that it predated the revivals' mid-2000s popularity, which groups like Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand would receive. However, he believed that "near perfection [had] already been achieved" through Romance before either of their debutworks came out. Though noting their significance, Cooke dubbed Romance "so bold, so beautiful, [and] so much better than its acclaimed successors".[10] In 2012, Punknews.org's Joe Pelone wrote that, within post-hardcore, it wasn't held in the esteem that classicalbums by At the Drive-In and Bear vs. Shark had. He deemed it "just as passionate [and] just as explosive" and that it "certainly deserves a spot" amongst them.[8]
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Matador Records reissued Romance for vinyl in November 2023.[11]Spectrum Culture's Holly Hazelwood gave it a generally positive review the next year. She deemed it "the apex of [the group's] career," applauding it as "such a fantastic portrait of a band finding a harmonious balance between creativity and talent."[9]
