A North London band with a mercurial style, Sorry was started by two best friends and first surfaced with a few mixtape-styled collections of home demos. They brought a wildly experimental sound influenced by everything from trip-hop, ’90s alt-rock, and early trap to their 2020 debut album, 925. The group’s slightly harder-edged Adrian Utley-produced follow-up, Anywhere But Here, was released in late 2022.
Sorry was formed by dual vocalist/songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen. The two childhood friends began playing music together in their teens, exploring both guitar-based rock and beatmaking. They put together a fully formed band with drummer Lincoln Barrett and bassist Campbell Baum, playing for a while under the name Fish before another act with the same name threatened legal action and they changed their name to Sorry. In 2017 the group released a collection of stylistically varied tracks called Home Demo/ns, Vol. 1 while becoming more of a fixture in London’s club scene. Around the same time, the band’s hybridized sound and active presence caught the attention of Domino Records, which began issuing singles with the group, starting in 2017 with the “Wished/Lies” 7″, followed by “2 Down 2 Dance” and “Showgirl” the next year. 2018 also saw a second volume of the Home Demo/ns series as the band played supporting slots on tours for bigger artists.
Sorry’s debut album, 925, arrived in early 2020, produced with help from Gorillaz producer James Dring and adding fifth member Marco Pina on electronics. It made a strong showing on the U.K. indie charts, hitting number 13, though the band’s planned headlining tour was canceled due to the global pandemic. They did, however, issue a 2021 concert album, A Night at the Windmill, with proceeds benefitting Brixton’s much-loved indie venue the Windmill. That same year, the Twixtustwain EP helped bridge the gap while the group prepared their next album. Recorded in Bristol with Portishead producer Adrian Utley, Sorry’s sophomore album, Anywhere But Here, arrived in October 2022. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi
