r/postpunk

Pretty self-explanatory. I’ll start with one of my favorites: Manicured Noise - Faith.

There is this song that I heard this morning. I will attempt to describe it in as much detail as possible, hoping it will ring a bell for someone.

The reason it is bothering me so much (besides wanting to listen to it ofc) is because it had this beautifully unique riff/melody I have heard before, but no more than 2 or 3 times in my life I’d say. I am honestly quite sure the riff/melody has been sampled.

80s (I am so certain, if I am wrong it would be early 90s) on the experimental, alt rock, synthy/new wave genre side of things. It was around 5-8 minutes. Melancholic and quite slow, likely a band, was in English, lead singer a male (UK/AUS/US) with a monotone voice, quite recognisable but I just can’t put my finger on it. Slower phrasing and sadder lyrics from what I can remember. I believe it opened with the riff/melody and finished with it, though I can be certain it carried throughout the entire song and chorus. I am so frustrated I can no longer remember the melody. I’m not educated on musical terminology, so forgive me for not using correct terms, but the riff/melody was in 3’s…if that makes sense? Like a ‘dun dunnnn dunn’, or an ‘up down up’.

WHAT I CAN REMEMBER is that towards the end of the song it repeated 2 or 3 times a long “baaaaaaaaabyyyy”. I believe it was only twice. It was in the last minute or 2 of the song. The “baaaaabbbbyyyyy” would last 3-7 seconds as a held note.

It wasn’t loud enough for me to distinctly hear the lyrics. For extra detail: it played at work, (I work in fashion), in a studio - either by a producer or photographer. I’m assuming it was on Spotify.

*ANOTHER DETAIL: I wasn’t able to have my phone so I asked someone to Shazam it and it wasn’t able to be Shazammed!!!

It is definitely a more niche song, otherwise a well known artist deep cut. I’d say I’m well versed in music, especially amongst those genres + 80s, and I have heard it before, perhaps as a sample. I could imagine in a Dean Blunt/babyfather type of way, God Hour sampling Physic TV - Just Drifting.

Here are the only songs I can think of anywhere close/or with faint similarities. The track still carried that experimental/80s/alt/rock sound to it, but it was a yearning man for sure. Again, I can only use my memory. Here are some examples:

The Boys Next Door - Shivers

Kino - “Спокойная ночь”

Australian Crawl - Reckless (Don’t Be So…)

The Stranglers - La Folie

The Blue Nile - The Downtown Lights

Television - Rhyme

Beat Rhythm Fashion - Turn of the Century

Dadamah - High Tension House

Spectrum - Undo the Taboo

Tarwater - The Watersample

Roxy Music - More Than This

*edited to link songs.