It's been two years since the first album from London band Sorry and in that time, the group's sound has evolved. Perhaps it's the presence of co-producer Graham Utley of Portishead, or perhaps it's the fact that the planet's barely survived horrors and a pandemic, but Anywhere But Here is a real step forward. The Domino release is out on Friday.
Opener "Let the Lights On" is almost funky, an approximation of peers Wet Leg or Dry Cleaning mixed with Gang of Four, maybe, but "Tell Me" and other numbers here are more oblique and moody. It's here that Sorry suceeds. "Willow Tree" mines a similar vibe, while the wonderful and warm "There's So Many People That Want to be Loved" reveals how this current fad of disjointed post-punk can wear a heart on its sleeve too. It's not enough for these new Brit bands to offer odd time signatures, or matter of fact lyrics. No, they've got to deliver something memorable and here, on this one especially, Sorry have.
While some of Anywhere But Here veers into territory that makes me think of The Delgados a tiny bit ("Baltimore"), most of this is distinctive enough as to stand on its own. The moodiness of the pieces works well with the fairly straightforward and effective vocals, and jittery guitar-figures. When they're direct, like on the sinewy "Screaming in the Rain Again", Sorry manage to conjure up real emotions. And unlike some of their contemporaries in London, this band doesn't sound like they're just having fun deconstructing the familiar. Sorry are happy to push at the edges of what post-punk can be, but also content to let the melodies offer moments of genuine introspection and emotion. In a sense, their music is closer to that of Slint or Mogwai than it is to any of those bands I referenced earlier at the start. And Anywhere But Here is engrossing throughout.
Anywhere But Here is out on Friday via Domino.
[Photo: Felix Bayley-Higgins]