Can you ID this band or singer?

[Michedelic]

It’s very much a circa ‘83-‘87 sound, not so much influenced by U2, Smiths, or FOS but straight out of the Factory or 4AD vibe, maybe even early Creation Records, something laterally related to goth or maybe even proto-shoegaze. There was a bunch of one-shot bands like that back then. Reminded me somewhat of The Chameleons(or their spin-off band, The Sun and The Moon), but the production values just aren’t there, so I’d say some unknown band trying to cop that sound. The golden age of chorus pedals.

 

[RichardW]

Sounds like Gang of Four to me.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Recorded from a Portland OR radio station, probably Q105, in the late 80s. This has a *lot* of people stumped on FB. One of the repeating phrases that's understandable is "I was only trying to make the world more personal".

EDIT: If this belongs under Recordings, feel free to move it.

Play it on your computer, and Shazam it on your phone.

 

[Thundertips]

Recorded from a Portland OR radio station, probably Q105, in the late 80s. This has a *lot* of people stumped on FB. One of the repeating phrases that's understandable is "I was only trying to make the world more personal".

EDIT: If this belongs under Recordings, feel free to move it.

I don't know, but whatever it is, that's a real good Bass sound.

 

[BassBrass]

Sounds like Gang of Four to me.

No wanky delay on GO4 guitar and real (very) drummer...this sounds like a linn drum machine used poorly. General distortion makes me think it's tapedeck recorded in the air (not direct) from album being played. It's not a keyboard band. English tamber and accent to the voice. "The Glove" maybe?

 

[Michedelic]

No wanky delay on GO4 guitar and real (very) drummer...this sounds like a linn drum machine used poorly. General distortion makes me think it's tapedeck recorded in the air (not direct) from album being played. It's not a keyboard band. English tamber and accent to the voice. "The Glove" maybe?

Female vocals with The Glove, otherwise you’d recognize Robert Smith’s yelping.

 

[Michedelic]

Sounds like Gang of Four to me.

Eh, not even close...the guitar is not scratchy and abrasive enough, and Gill would never play leads like that. No funk in the bass, either.

 

[LBS-bass]

Sounds like Gang of Four to me.

That's what I thought, too. But not them. Sounds like someone wanting to sound like them.

 

[Rib 13]

It’s very much a circa ‘83-‘87 sound, not so much influenced by U2

did you listen to the whole track? about midway, the guitarist seems to be pulling out all the best moves from the Edge's War, Boy, or October playbook while the vocalist has spots where you hear him flirt with the idea of
going Bono knowing he doesnt have the range for it

 

[Michedelic]

did you listen to the whole track? about midway, the guitarist seems to be pulling out all the best moves from the Edge's War, Boy, or October playbook while the vocalist has spots where you hear him flirt with the idea of
going Bono knowing he doesnt have the range for it

Yeah, I did, and it’s still more 4AD than U2 to my ears; that kind of guitar sound originated with The Cure and Siouxie and the Banshees, whereas U2 took their cues from these guys...
.

 

[nickpc]

Could it be The Church? The guitar is too clean to be The Jesus and Mary Chain, but the voice is similar there as well.

 

[Alkali Ike]

As already noted in the OP link to FB, Shazam can't figure it out. Also as noted, this was recorded off the air from radio station Q105 in Portland OR, probably late 80s.

In that FB post, these are the guesses so far. Some are attempts at humor.

1000 Violins
32 Parallel
4AD and Enigma
A Band that opened for Gene Loves Jezebel at Scream
Abecedarians
Adorable
Alien Sun
And Also The Trees
Anto Banto
Aztec Camera
Bernard Summer
Big Country
Boy George
BOY WONDERS
Camouflage
Chameleons UK
Charles Powne
Church or Wire
Close Lobsters
Comsat Angels
Cream Cheese Accident
Crimson Outfield
Dale Price
David Schelzel
Depeche Mode
Donovan
Early Double Entendres
Echo and the bunnymen
Eggnog & The Sentinels
Erasure
Factory records
Gene
Happy Monday
Heart of Darkness
House of Love
Human Drama
Ian Curtis
Ian McCullough
Icehouse
Indochine
Inspiral Carpets
James Maker
Jesus and Mary Chain
John Foxx
Johnny Marr
Joy Division
Julian Hepworth
Killing Joke
King Crimson
Kitchens of Distinction
Kraftwerk
Lead Singer of New Order
Lowgold
Lowlife
Madchester
Marc Lewis
Midge Ure era Ultravox
Mighty Lemondrops
Mighty Mighty
Mike Peters
Mission
Mission U.K.
Modern English
Motorcycle Boy
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Nero's Rome
New Order
Noel Burke
Nyam Nyam
Ocean Blue
OMD
Pale Divine
Paul Simpson
Peter Murphy
Point of Collapse
Presence
Prince
Psychedelic Furs
Raymonde
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Robert Siedler
Robyn Hitchcock
Sad Lovers & Giants
Sarah Records Label
Sister Hazel
Slayer
Sluicing Up Eyeballs
Soup Dragons
Sp!n - Manifesto of Love
Stephen Hague
Stephen Street
Steve Lillywhite
Morrissey
Sunny Day Real Estate
Tape
The Alarm
The Apartments
The band called james
The Beloved
The Blue
The Bodines
The Bolshoi
The Chameleons
The Church
The Cult
The Cure
The Drowning Room
The Editors
The Eyes (out of St Louis)
The Foundation Label
The Iron Curtain
The Jump Monkeys
The Lightning Seeds
The Loft
The Mission
The Pastels
The Snake Corps
The Sound
the train sets
Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments
Trashcan Sinatras
Trevor Tanner
Unrest
Wayne Hussey
Wild Swans
Wire
Wire Train
Zero le Creche

 

[Brozzy]

I believe I have solved the puzzle. The song was performed by an unknown Portland band that existed for six months and then faded into oblivion. They did their best to imitate as many British bands as they could in their one recorded demo. The bass player now features in a Dad band in Vancouver, Washington and often remembers what could have been.

 

[rtslinger]

I believe the lyric is "I was only trying to make the words more personal". not sure who it is I even searched the copyright data base and nothing?

 

[LBS-bass]

Looks like lots of guesses, but no one actually knows this song.

 

[RichardW]

The bass player now features in a Dad band in Vancouver,

Maybe he's on TB and will self-identify!

 

[Sanshiro]

Unfortunately the likely answer is it's one of many forgotten indie bands that never made it out of their local area. If it actually was a more notable band/person that people have listed we'd probably know who it is by now. I do like the song though.

As far as some of the guesses go, the singer doesn't sound like Morrissey but he sounds like he's trying to imitate him a bit, at least to me. It doesn't sound like Bernard Sumner or Ian Curtis at all, nor does the song itself sound like a New Order or Joy Division song.

 

[Killing Floor]

It’s very much a circa ‘83-‘87 sound, not so much influenced by U2, Smiths, or FOS but straight out of the Factory or 4AD vibe, maybe even early Creation Records, something laterally related to goth or maybe even proto-shoegaze. There was a bunch of one-shot bands like that back then. Reminded me somewhat of The Chameleons(or their spin-off band, The Sun and The Moon), but the production values just aren’t there, so I’d say some unknown band trying to cop that sound. The golden age of chorus pedals.

That's definitely not Chameleons, not Mark Burgess. But I see the similarity. I am a secret fanboy, bass playing singer, great producer. And Second Skin is one of my favorite songs from that genre.
There were so many bands in that ilk that never went beyond the studio.

Edit to say Script of the Bridge is on my phono right now so this is a great trip down memory lane. Today's off to a good start!

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Not me..

 

[Obese Chess]

I'm also going to vote "local band that never achieved national or international notoriety" but I'll pass it along to some other local music nerds.