Album Review: Sorry - '925'

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Sorry are probably one of the most hyped bands to come out of London in a while, featuring in the mainstream press as well as all the usual music publications. There were even rumours that they’re one of Domino’s biggest signings since a little band you might have heard of called the Arctic Monkeys.

Some of the hype around Sorry revolved around them being a band for now, writing music that means something to today’s teenagers and twentysomethings – which means that now is probably the worst time for their debut album to come out, seeing as everything is different and nothing will be the same. Will a band labelled as ‘the future of indie rock’ still be the future in a world turned upside down? We will have to wait and see, but we should try to enjoy the album in the here and now.

You may well have heard some of the tracks on 925 before, with a number of them entering circulation over the past couple of years either as proper singles or demos. ‘Starstruck’ may be the standout, a self-assured slice of modern indie rock. Grunting the word ‘ugh’ shouldn’t really be a hook but vocalist Asha Lorenz makes it so. 

The jazzy intro to opener ‘Right Around The Clock’ seems destined to be played over and over again over the coming months. It’s another great track, a snotty, swaggering insight into Sorry, Lorenz’s confident vocals dovetailing nicely with Louis O’Bryen’s drawl.

Although on the surface you could class 925 as a typical guitar-indie-rock album you would be doing it a disservice. Tracks like ‘More’ summon a frantic, almost punky sound, while ‘Rosie’ is more chilled with a side of sinister. ‘As The Sun Sets’ even finishes with a slightly creepy recital of ‘What A Wonderful World’.

Another upside is ‘Ode to Boy’ which sort of sounds like what might happen if James Murphy were a young middle class Londoner who got really, really into that last Let’s Eat Grandma album. It may not be the best track on the album but it showcases something a bit different to the rest of it, suggesting that Sorry are in no danger of being one-trick ponies in the future.

It’s a solid if not spectacular debut and bodes well for Sorry fulfilling their promise over the coming years. If you want to hear an album that sounds like what indie music in April 2020 should’ve sounded like, this is it.

Words by Thomas Worley