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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 already been achieved" through Romance before either of their debutworks came out. Though noting their significance, Cooke dubbed Romance "so bold, so beautiful, so much better than its acclaimed successors". 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 just as explosive" and that it "certainly deserves a spot" amongst them.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Matador Records reissued Romance for vinyl in November 2023. Spectrum Culture's Holly Hazelwood gave it a generally positive review the next year. She deemed it "the apex of career," applauding it as "such a fantastic portrait of a band finding a harmonious balance between creativity and talent."
