The Online Romance

So I've got a new love--the Portland bunch The Online Romance pledge their allegiance to analog recording formats, despite what their modern band name would lead one to believe. Their website comes complete with a compendium of information about the band's history, lineup changes, hidden videos, and an amusing FAQ strewn with links to Wikipedia articles for referential purposes. Analog indeed!

But really, The Online Romance's low-key take on recording suits my own taste superbly. The FAQ informs that "both demo tapes were recorded on a Tascam 488 8-track cassette recorder, and the 7" was recorded with a Fostex R8 8-track reel-to-reel machine." Fans of Oh, Inverted World and If You're Feeling Sinister should feel right at home with The Online Romance's calm pop sensibility. Their song lyrics come off like trite absurdist tales, following in the rambling indie-pop oral tradition.

I had a whole pile of penny rolls which I collected in Georgia, a state so lacking in tolls. You claimed "no contest" between the Go-Gos and the Bangles. What? I love it.

An exerpt from The Online Romance FAQ section of their website:

Q: So what's with the stupid name?
A: "The Online Romance" is a recipe for embarrassment as a title for anything, but Jack tripped upon it way back in 2000 when he was trying to come up with the ultimate tongue-in-cheek emo band name. (The singularity of the name and the word "the" are both integral to this "emo-ness," not to mention its acronym.) TOR is obviously not "emo" — whether you mean it in the credible, Rites of Spring / 1985 sense or in its horrendous present-day application — but the absurdist appeal of having a band name which alluded so strongly to technology and yet is performed almost solely on acoustic instruments was too much to pass up. Sometimes it's just fun to screw with people's assumptions.

And as for any speculative genre leanings, well, the FAQ quells certain possibilities quite deftly:

Q: There's a line in "my daydream of urban planning" about the Bible. Ugh! Is TOR a Christian rock band?
A: If you're simple-minded and reactionary, TOR can be anything you want it to be!

The Online Romance has three releases, yet they're unfortunately a bit difficult to come across, since two of them are out of print cassettes. The most recent is a 3-song single on 7 inch, still available. They assure us that once a full length is complete, it will be released on CD, but so far, no such luck. Founding member Jack prefers the music to be listened to on turntable. So I guess we can all stick that in our collective pipe. Touché.

Regardless, The Online Romance is recommended in the highest degree, if that means anything to you. Oh, and they're desperately seeking a drummer, so if you live in Portland ... give them a ring.



+ The Online Romance - "hey abraham"
+ The Online Romance - "twitch"

Purchase music by The Online Romance | TOR myspace | TOR website