Tag: Line & Circle
Live Review: The Deli LA
Many thanks to The Deli LA for this review of our show at The Satellite this week. Check out an excerpt below and see the whole thing HERE.
Live Review: Line & Circle at the Satellite, 1/8/13
For the first week of the new year, The Satellite hosted free shows in partnership with Moheak Radio, Grimy Goods, and Downtown Lobby. A great way to lure fans in on cold nights usually spent recovering from overeating and the doldrums of returning to the nine-to-five grind. I ventured out on Tuesday to check out Midwest transplants, Line & Circle, whose anthemic indie rock is drenched in nostalgia. They played an impressive set that proved that while they may be new to LA, they came prepared. Lead singer, Brian Cohen’s vocals harken back to an era before whining was proof of a frontman’s vulnerability, with a haunting quality that at times evoked Robert Smith. Bass player, Nathan Gammill was working so hard, he vacillated between standing eerily still while his fingers danced like lightning across his fretboard, to a mere bob of the head. The theme of the night was maturity - in skill level, and in the feeling evoked through the music. Somehow, their songs give you the sense that they are lamenting heartbreaks and lessons learned from a youth long past, while it’s clear they are right in the midst of it all. But, don’t mistake me, this was not simply a buttoned-up masters class in rock. When Line & Circle hit the stage, they brought the energy up to eleven, and kept it there without hesitation throughout the entire set. A solid set of Indie Rock tunes, just the way you want them - without irony, gimmicks, or arrogance. The duo, turned studio five-piece, recently released a 7” on White Iris Records, which boasts the likes of Beast Coast, Electric Guest, and NO. Check out the single, “Roman Ruins,” below, and keep your eye out for these up-and-comers. - Jacqueline Caruso
“Roman Ruins” Year-End Accolades
Our single “Roman Ruins” made its way onto a few ‘best of’ lists for 2012. Here’s a roundup below. Have a peek and be sure to check out some of these other great tunes as well.
Bowery Boogie (NYC/ US) feature and top ten best songs of 2012
Everybody Taste (US) best songs of 2012
Buzzbands (LA/ US) best local songs of 2012
Bandbook (US) top ten best songs of 2012
Sound of Confusion (UK) top ten best songs of 2012
The Sound of 2013
Many thanks to The Sound of Confusion in the UK for including us in their top ten acts for 2013.
Check out an excerpt below and the read the whole list here.
Line & Circle
As debut singles go, ‘Roman Ruins’ by Californians Line & Circle is one of the best we’ve heard in a long time, even making the top 10 of our tracks of the year list. Surely there’s no way that a band with a song as good as that haven’t gt something else up their sleeves. With just that song and excellent B-side ‘Carelessness’ to listen to we’re eager to hear more.
Everybody Taste: The Best Songs of 2012
The fine folks at Everybody Taste have “Roman Ruins” at #29 in their best songs of 2012. Check out the whole list HERE.
Also, read their review of our 7” below, or check out the post HERE.
“There’s a head-clearing cinematic breeze to the track “Roman Ruins” by Los Angeles band Line & Circle. It’s the sort of song that might soundtrack a scene in a romantic drama where the protagonist and his or her love interest realize they can never actually be together—there’s a touch of cheese and melodrama, but that tragic sentiment is also completely genuine. It’s a song that gets caught in your gut, and only escapes when you turn up the dial on your stereo, crank down the car windows, and drive without really thinking or knowing where you’re going. Buy the 7” from White Iris Records.”
Tour Press Roundup: Seattle CultureMob
Check out this fine review from our show in Seattle last week. Read an excerpt below, or see the whole review HERE.
“ Line & Circle open with an energetic 45-minute set that blows away the winter blues with a dose of California sun. The venue is still disappointingly empty as the crowd trickles in from the cold, but everyone within earshot sits up and takes notice as soon as Line & Circle take to the stage. Their sound owes more to early R.E.M. than their contemporaries – with a nod to British bands the Stone Roses and The Smiths – but that doesn’t keep them from sounding refreshingly unique. There’s an obvious chemistry at work between these young musicians, and their stage presence keeps even the hardcore rockers entranced. A guest guitar appearance by RNDM’s Joseph Arthur gives their set some variety and texture, while their one hit to date, ‘Roman Ruins‘, provides an upbeat highlight. This is clearly an act to watch over the coming months.”
See more photos from the show by Jason Tang HERE.
WEST COAST TOUR w/ RNDM STARTS TONIGHT!
Buckle in y’all. See you soon!
Photo by Megan Kathleen McIsaac
KEXP Live Video: Line & Circle at CMJ
The fine folks at KEXP have posted the video from our live session last month at CMJ in New York City.
Check out the post HERE, or read an excerpt and watch two videos below:
“Line & Circle are a dream pop band who’ve come onto the national scene this year from LA. This five-piece started with the songwriting duo of Brian J. Cohen and Brian Egan — both from Akron and Dayton, Ohio, respectively — who met in college before moving from the midwest to Los Angeles. They come out of a tradition of synth and chiming-guitar pop bands like early R.E.M., The Church, or The Feelies — and the reminders of those groups are a strength, not any indication of lack of originality. White Iris Records picked up the band and released a 7″ Roman Ruins (A)/Carelessness (B) in July this year. The songwriting is assured and their performance at CMJ for KEXP’s broadcast was high-energy and transcendent. Brian J Cohen’s voice yearns over top of postmodern and majestic layers of guitar and synth slipping in and around each other. A couple of weeks ago, they released a video for “Roman Ruins,” which follows a group of young 20-somethings blithely road-tripping up the California coast to San Francisco — very apt for the band’s nostalgically earnest landscape. Line & Circle will bring their melodic dream-pop to Seattle on November 27th at the Showbox. Check out the videos below if you want a preview of what should be a great show, and be sure to watch the full performance video, which also features two excellent untitled tracks.”
The Silver Tongue: 7inch Sunday: Line & Circle - Roman Ruins
Many thanks to vinyl enthusiasts The Silver Tongue for this thoughtful review. Check out an excerpt below, or see the post HERE:
“With their recently released debut single, Line & Circle genuinely comfort us without the easy-going plague of complacency.
The single’s cover juxtaposes outdoor serenity with a hint of distortion creeping up from below. With the image just blurry enough to illicit second glances, the songs behind the artwork convey a similar vibe. Neither side of the release is quick to reveal itself; rather, the songs are both slow-burning jams that last far longer than they sonically appear.
“Roman Ruins,” as vividly captured in the video below, embodies a playfully youthful spirit of blindly traveling. The song coasts through calming melodies without the need for straightforward answers or conclusions. Frontman Brian Cohen’s voice holds a familiarity that comforts and cohesively matches the reflective instrumentation.
The B-side, “Carelessness,” has an unexplainable complexity within its four minutes. Guitar progressions are often limited to a single chord, and the piano flirts quietly overtop the track, but the combination of these simplicities with the rest of the song creates an infectious energy that fluctuates with each member’s participation. To witness an outfit combine their skills with such precision is both a treat and pleasant surprise.”
KEXP at CMJ 2012, Day 3: Line & Circle
A million thanks to the incredible folks @kexp for making our live session @cmj last week so memorable. Check out a recap of the performance below, and read the whole article HERE.
Line & Circle have had a busy week! Touted as the next best thing from Los Angeles their infectious sound will definitely leave an impression. The vocals and lyrics of Brian J Cohen are rich and warbling. The combination of these two elements makes Line & Circle out to be an Americana post-punk mashup, like Modern English written for aimless drives through midwestern countryside. So far, they’ve got one single to their name, “Roman Ruins” and the b-side “Carelessness” both are available via White Iris (stream them here).
This year’s CMJ Music Marathon @ Union Square Ballroom during KEXP’s live broadcast is coming to a close but not slowing down-at least not if Line & Circle have anything to do with it. Eager to play for the audience that braved the rainy weather to get out early they ripped through a set of “Discontents”, “Roman Ruins” and introduced listeners to a new song,”Mine is Mine.” Lead singer Brian J Cohen originally hails from Akron, Ohio and his midwestern-hometown vibe radiates with a warmth that has gained them comparisons from everyone from Athen’s R.E.M to New York’s The National. The ease with which Brian Egan (keys), Eric Neujahr (guitar), Nathan Gammill (bass guitar) and Nick Cisik (drums) come together makes their songs even stronger. Make sure to catch them as they head out from their shows this week and continue on their takeover of North America and continue to attract new listeners with each unveiling of their upcoming debut release.
photos by Lauren Slusher and Ben Mobley
KCRW: LA Bands to Watch at CMJ 2012
KCRW included us in their article on LA bands to watch at CMJ 2012. Read an excerpt below, or check it out here!
“The great thing about music conferences like CMJ is that you start to notice the competing geographic music scenes on a national (and even international) level. There’s no doubt that Brooklyn, Austin, and the Seattle/Portland constituencies have always had great indie success. But there’s always been something unique about the diverse musical landscape of Los Angeles and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the year.
This year is no exception with the buzz behind the young pop diva Sky Ferreira, LA indie supergroup JJAMZ(amazingly pronounced Juh-Jamz), 80’s inspired college jangle pop act Line and Circle, Glassnotes 8-bit warrior Robert DeLong, electro pop dance rockers Capital Cities, dreamy shoegazers Tashaki Miyaki, Echo Park indie rockers NO, indie-tronic R&B trio Wildcat! Wildcat!, and Psychelectric blues rockers American Royalty.
Despite the obvious home court advantage of the conference taking place in NY, I believe LA may escape CMJ with a gutsy road victory thanks to some late game heroics from the aforementioned acts…”
FALL TOUR w/ ELECTRIC GUEST & NO
Our first U.S. tour begins next week! Who’s coming?
See you out there soon, America. xo
(Photo by Megan McIsaac)
Culture Collide After-Party @ ECHOPLEX 10/7
We are performing at the Echoplex this Sunday, 10/7 for the Culture Collide Festival After-Party!
The show is FREE 21+ and FREE for anyone with a Culutre Collide wristband. Tickets will be $7.00 for anyone 18 - 20.
Entrance for the Echoplex is at 1154 Glendale Blvd. Come on down. Here’s the lineup:
Doors 8pm
8:30pm - 9pm GARLAND
9:15pm - 9:45pm LINE & CIRCLE
10pm - 10:30pm VINYL WILLIAMS
10:45pm - 11:15pm OH BOY LES MECS
11:30pm - THE CIGARETTE BUMS
BROOKLYN VEGAN Previews Our Fall 2012 Tour
Big thanks to @brooklynvegan for this fine preview of our upcoming Fall tour with @ElectricGuest and @No! Check out all the dates in the scan below and see the post HERE.
L&C in Australia’s “Sydney Morning Herald”
A little bit of intercontinental love for our single from The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) all the way from Down Under. Thanks @sebth @EarsMcEvoy! See the excerpt below or check it out HERE!
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