ROMES is a Toronto-based indie electronic outfit with a sleek sound that flirts with soul, synth-pop, and shimmering bedroom pop. Based around the duo of brothers Jacob and Nick Bitove, the band earned some national success with their Tony Hoffer-produced 2017 debut. They later shifted focus to singles with a bevy of songs arriving throughout 2020 and into the next year.
The band’s genesis dates back to their youth on a different continent. The Canadian-born Bitove brothers (vocalist Jacob and drummer Nick) befriended Andrew Keyes (bass) and James Tebbitt (guitar) while attending St. Gerard’s School in Bray, Ireland. The four friends formed a band and soon moved to Canada, and when that band split up in 2015, they started ROMES. The group’s bright, synth-heavy pop sound earned them comparisons to acts like the 1975 and Years & Years. After scoring a deal with Universal-affiliated Eleven Seven Music, they worked with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, M83, Phoenix) to record their debut EP, Believe, which arrived in the spring of 2016. A U.S. tour supporting Mutemath followed, as did shows with bands like the Strokes and Silversun Pickups in support of ROMES' eponymous 2017 full-length, which was also produced by Hoffer. The album yielded a modest Canadian hit in the vibrant single, “Tryna Be.” When ROMES resurfaced in 2020, the group had slimmed down to the core duo of the Bitove Brothers who began issuing a torrent of singles throughout the year. Songs like “Look What You’ve Done” and “Count Me Out” doubled down on their glassy, summery pop vibes, as did the catchy 2021 track “Drinking on My Own.” ~ Timothy Monger (sourced from Apple Music)