Line & Circle was born of the collaboration between Brian J. Cohen & Brian Egan, friends and bandmates who met at college in the Midwest. Cohen was from Akron, Ohio, pre-med and penny-loafered and overtly Anglophilic. Egan was the quiet guy down the hall, the classically trained pianist, born and raised in Dayton, with Guided by Voices playing through his ever-shut door.
So…two guys named Brian from the Midwest.
But also, lines and circles are the elements of, well, everything. The shapes that formed the essence of the very first cave paintings. The forms that make up every letter of every alphabet in every language. And now, the ones and zeros that make up binary code. An entire history of communication, stripped back to its essence, leads to these two simple shapes.
Yes, everything. For as long as we’ve been here.
The two Brians moved to California. Their lives were binary now too, divided into before and after. Before was the place they came from–––Ohio, with its blue-collar spirit, familiar apple-cheeked faces, and long cold winters–––and after was the place they went to–––Los Angeles, with its jammed freeways and long-haired girls and relentlessly good weather.
They had no choice but to buy sunglasses and write songs.
Their new material was leaner than their previous collaborations, and yet somehow bigger. Less trees, more sky. Their early demos caught the ear of White Iris’ Lewis Pesacov, who previously produced debut albums for Best Coast and Nikki Lane. They took to the studio, along with a newly formed band, including guitarist Eric Neujahr, bassist Nathan Gammill and drummer Nick Cisik. There, with nods to early 4AD dream pop and chiming I.R.S. Records-era guitar rock, the group pared the songs to their essence–––there’s that word again–––simple melodic phrases and hooky ostinatos that subvert the complications of the lyrics. The result is this first release, a 7” on White Iris Records. Recorded live, Roman Ruins (side A) and Carelessness (side B) are soaring and dark and glittering and nostalgic, like the soundtrack to an epic coming-of-age story.
So, two songs. Two guys named Brian. Two shapes. Ohio and California.
Cave paintings. Line & Circle. Everything, forever.
Debut 7” single Roman Ruins / Carelessness out 7/10/12 on White Iris.
*Photo by Megan Kathleen McIsaac

Named after the J-L Godard film, Détective was initially conceived as a studio project by James Greer (Guided by Voices) and Guylaine Vivarat (Useless Keys, Tennis System). With the addition of Rory Modica on drums, the band recorded the single Very Fallen World (March 2012), followed by the EP Basket of Masks at Greg Ashley's (The Gris-Gris) Oakland CA analog haven, The Creamery (April 2012). Détective will tour nationally with Guided by Voices in September to support the release of its first full length album, However Strange.

PRESS

"The music of the L.A. trio Detective sounds as if it could have come from dusty tapes found in the 4AD archive. (...) “Basket of Masks” trades in coy pop melodies, gritty post-punk guitar riffs and proggy krautrock instrumentals. Their sparse, lo-fi structures don’t sacrifice texture, though; Vivarat and Greer have found the delicate balance between sweet and off-kilter that recall Stereolab and some Morr Music luminaries." -- BUZZBANDS.LA

"Basket of masks is absolutely sublime, and while its not an immediate grabber, oh it grows on ya, if you let it. (...) if you like the likes of Galaxie 500 – or anything Dean Warham related you should love this. (...) definitely of my favorite records of 2012.“ -- CAPTAIN'S DEAD

"The very balmy, easygoing sound of Détective matches perfectly with the late-spring/early-summer weather we feel when we open up our windows." -- MAGNET MAGAZINE