Where does the time go?  In my mind it feels like it has only been a few years since I last blogged here until you look at the dates.  Eight years is quite a lengthy break.  Just thinking back on the bands alone that I never blogged about is enough to almost make you cry.  So many bands have come and gone in these forgotten years; but I am back now and intend to update this site regularly once again.  More so than ever I feel I need to blog again.  Current events in my life almost necessitate it, it seems.  I really only stopped posting because I grew somewhat disillusioned last time with blogging.  Between that disillusionment and my eventually moving back to the East Coast resulted first in my neglect and then ultimately in my total abandonment of the site.  I hope to never let that happened again.  Hopefully I can have this blog back to running like I want in a few days and new posts will start tonight or tomorrow!  I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to sharing new and old bands and music with the world again.  It has definitely been far too long of a hiatus here and this new adventure will be worthwhile, I promise!

A big thanks to all those who read the blog before and to all those who might discover it now and in the future.


Sincerely, thank you, every last one of you,


Duane Sawyer

Little Name

The band I am reviewing today has given me the soundtrack to my autumn. I don't completely have the words to describe how much this album has grown on me in such a short time. It is already in my top 10 for this year, and will likely climb into my top5 before the year's out. That's no small feat considering the sheer number of albums that you and I have probably listened to at this point in the year. The band is called Little Name, and this masterpiece of an album, yeah I said it, (and I'll stand by my opinion of it) is called How to Swim and Live. This is one of those rare albums that grabs you and doesn't let go until the end. Soft, and plaintive in parts like a whisper, soaring and majestic in others, I can find little fault with anywhere with it. So without any further hype, here's a couple songs off of it that I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

MP3: Little Name - For the Attention Of

MP3: Little Name - How to Swim and Live (my absolute favorite off this album!!!)

A always, their myspace, their homepage, and where to buy this record that you madly NEED!!!!

Sambassadeur

It's really great when you've been away from something (or someone) for a while because when you find that certain thing again you can't help but appreciate it even more than you did before. I've had to endure this summer without internet access. That meant no new music for the most part. Sure I got to use the ol' interweb at friend's houses, but it was sporadic an unreliable as to when I could. I've also been away from Portland and all of the fantastic friend's that I made there. I got to see them (well, some of them at least) this weekend and it was amazing to hang out there again. Which is what brings me to today's song. Sambassadeur has been a fave for quite a while now. They have a new album coming this November, and if this preview is any indication, it will by far be their best effort to date. So without any more of my jibber jabber, here's their latest:

MP3: Sambassadeur - Subtle Changes

As always befriend them here, an check out Labrador here to buy some of their great releases.

BONUS VIDEO: Sambassadeur - New Moon

Rodeo Ruby Love

There's nothing like the feeling of Autumn to me, so to celebrate my favorite time of the year (and the fact that I have internet access again) I am going to be updating the old blog again on a regular basis. A lot of the inspiration for this come from a very special friend of mine, so I hope that she finds something new here to listen to in the coming months. so to inaugurate this most auspicious occasion, here's something that's been in heavy rotation on my Zune lately.

The band is Rodeo Ruby Love and the sound will make you want to jump around the room and dance. The multi-member group trades off boy/girl vocal that contain some of the sweetest harmonies and sentiments I've heard in a while. I am sure you will love this band as much as I do after giving them a listen. Check out their myspace for some more song samples.

Go become their friend here. And buy their music here.

MP3: Rodeo Ruby Love - The Atlantic

BONUS MP3: Rodeo Ruby Love - A Small House in the City

BONUS VIDEO: Here's a Live Perfomance of A Small House in the City

Voxtrot

Got some wonderful news in my email yesterday, Voxtrot have launched the site to their upcoming documentary, Reaching for the Lasers. The site can be found here at http://www.reaching4lasers.com/. I think each of you should visit it and check out some of the behinds the scenes going ons for their new album, Voxtrot, which drops in just a few short weeks. Of course I am sure that most of you have heard at least a few songs off the album by now (if not the entirety of it). One of my friends told me a few weeks ago that he didn't think the album sounded as good as the EP's. At first I sort of agreed with him, but the more I thought about it, the less I thought I did. Voxtrot released two of the most amazing EP's since the Smiths stopped dropping singles, but this album is right up there with Raised by Wolves and Mothers.... I mean maybe it takes a few more listens to really sink your teeth into, but this is definitely not a case of any sort or pre-sophomore slump by any means. The album is going to become one of your favorites this year. I have little doubt in saying that. Its end of year Top 10 for sure, and if its not, there better be some fucking amazing shit dropping this summer and fall (looking at you Wolf Parade...).

Here's an mp3 for you off the album.

MP3: Voxtrot - Kid Gloves

Be sure to check out Reaching for the Lasers as a new episode will be dropping every Wednesday.

As always check out their Homepage, and their Myspace where they could always use some more friends.... You can also get a few more previews from Voxtrot there as well.

Photo Atlas/Bravery Contest

So the Bravery is on tour now and they will be stopping by the Rose City on the 15th of May at the lovely Wonder Ballroom and they are bringing a great band called the Photo Atlas with them. Late Spring in Portland is a great time to see a show, the rain's gone for the most part and its still cool enough that the warm weather is not gonna make you sweat, so to me this sounds like a fantastic opportunity to give away some tickets. So, I am pleased to announce that we will indeed be giving away tickets to the upcoming show. This is your chance to spend the night hearing some great music for free! I had a lot of ideas about what to do for the contest but it came down to a simple one. I got a little creative with my contest, so its both very easy and maybe a bit complicated at the same time. In the video for "Handshake Heart Attack", what do you think the girl wrapping her head in gauze and placing X-'s over her eyes symbolizes? Get as bizarre, wacky and creative as you want cause that's what will win. The most creative entry gets a pair of tickets to rock out with the Atlas at the Wonder. So get to it, check out the mp3s below, go watch the video and score yourself some easy tickets to what will be an intense show. Post your ideas below as comments or email them to us at snowglobeuniverse@gmail.com.

MP3: The Photo Atlas - Handshake Heart Attack

BONUS VIDEO: "Handshake Heart Attack"

Their Homepage.
Their Myspace.
Here are the dates for the tour:

May 14 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, British Columbia (w/ The Bravery)
May 15 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR (w/ The Bravery)
May 16 El Corazon Seattle, WA (w/ The Bravery)
May 18 Velour Live Music Gallery Provo, UT (w/ Soul Tree)
May 19 The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO (w/ Holiday Run)
May 22 The Picador Iowa City, IA
May 23 Mojoes Coffee House Orland Park, IL
May 24 Pearl Dayton, OH
May 25 Agora Ballroom Cleveland, OH (w/ The Bravery)
May 26 Magic Stick Detroit, MI (w/ The Bravery)
May 28 Opera House Toronto, Ontario (w/ The Bravery)
May 29 Irving Plaza New York, NY (w/ The Bravery)
May 30 Irving Plaza New York, NY (w/ The Bravery)
May 31 Theatre Of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA (w/ The Bravery)
June 1 Mojo 13 Wilmington, DE
June 3 Exit/in Nashville, TN (w/ The Bravery)
June 6 Hamilton St Café Bound Brook, NJ
June 7 9:30 Club Washington D.C. (w/ The Bravery)
June 10 Mac’s Bar Lansing, MI
June 14 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO
June 18 Varsity Theatre Minneapolis, MN (w/ The Bravery)
June 19 Beaumont Club Kansas City, MO (w/ The Bravery)
June 20 Pop’s Sauget, IL (w/ The Bravery)
June 22 The Conservatory Oklahoma City, OK (w/ Mooney Suzuki)
June 28 Spaceland Los Angeles, CA (w/ Mooney Suzuki)
June 29 Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, CA (w/ Mooney Suzuki)
July 2 El Corazon Seattle, WA (w/ Mooney Suzuki)
July 3 Warped Tour: Thunderbird Stadium Vancouver, BC
July 5 Warped Tour: Race City Speedway Calgary, AB
July 7 Warped Tour: Utah State Fairgrounds Salt Lake City, UT
July 8 Warped Tour: Invesco Field At Mile High Denver, CO
July 11 Warped Tour: Cricket Pavilion Phoenix, AZ

The Old Soul

Hmmm, if there seems to be anything today that will get me excited about a band before hearing even that first chord its gotta be large multi-instrument groups. I can't honestly think of one group with 6+ members or more that I think sucks. Hailing out out of the land of what seems like the mecca of multi-member bands is The Old Soul. If that doesn't clue you in that these boys (and girl) are from Canada you've not been paying attention the past decade or so to indie-rock. I can remember when the only thing I knew about Toronto's music scene was Barenaked Ladies. Now it seems like half the bands I put on my top 10 lists come from that city. Speaking of top 10 lists, this band is gonna be on a ton of blogger top 10's come December. And if it ain't, well, then I guess those blogs just aren't worth reading.

Their Myspace.
Their webpage.

The obligatory track to whet your appetite for a full album:

MP3: The Old Soul - River of Daughters


Here's the video for River of Daughters. This song might just be better than the one I posted above, :-P

BONUS VIDEO:

http://www.theoldsoul.com/media/video/theoldsoul/riverofdaughters_320.php

We All Have Hooks for Hands

It has been quite a while since I last updated this blog. Yeah, yeah I know I promised to update more often after the last sabbatical, but I got sidetracked. For a while. A looooooooong while. Anyways, the band that I think you have to check out the most during the downtime I've had has to be We All Have Hooks for Hands. I'm going to dive into real blogger territory here and hype this band like the other bloggers would. This shit is the second coming. Forget Voxtrot, forget the Arcade Fire. Forget that Wolf Parade has an album on the way this year. Forget that CYHSY dropped another nugget of joy this year. The one you need to get. the only album you need to hear this year is The Pretender by the aforementioned We All Have Hooks for Hands. Hopefully I'll get some emails about my hyperbole on this one :-D. But I swear, there's not been one release this year that I have listened to as much as this one (and its only April, bear in mind). I've complained in the past about bloggers who've compared bands to Neutral Milk Hotel. To me NMH is the holy grail. It doesn't get much better than them. Pure and simple. But honestly. I really feel this band is the 21st century equivalent. No, they don't sound like Jeff Mangum and friends, but they give you that same feeling you get while listening to Neutral Milk Hotel. Take the members of Broken Social Scene, add in a more acoustic-based sound with hand claps and multiple singers and you get We All Have Hooks for Hands. Yeah yeah, I know its dumb to throw BSS into the whole what-do-they-sound-like shizz, but I could definitely see BSS having taken this direction as much as the one they did.

Hailing from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this band's debut album (while only a scant 26 minutes long) has brought to the table of indie-rock a sound that you are not likely to find anywhere else. But I promise you these twelve songs will sound familiar yet new all at one. This band's sound is poppy and upbeat, sloppy and perfectly crafted all at once, sort of like if We're From Barcelona listened to nothing but Guided By Voices all day then got really stoned with the Flaming Lips and made an album. Yes, it sounds nothing like any of those bands. But the picture it conjures, and the hard work that obviously went into making this album are what I am trying to get across to you.

Their Myspace.

Afternoon Records.

MP3: We All Have Hooks For Hands - Ghost and Strangers

MP3: We All Have Hooks For Hands - Elvis 'Mf' Christ