Sorry – 925
925 is a largely amorphous mass lacking in personality. Luckily, Sorry offer enough promise that forgiveness should be easy
Spurned by too many London buzz bands? (Yes, even we remember you, Palma Violets). Sorry arrive with apology in their name.
925, the trudging and mopey debut record by best pal duo Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen comes scalding hot, the buzz leaving a trail of engine smoke behind them. It’s not without reason – early singles like Twinkle glistened and shimmered (in a way the publicity material so desires for this new set of songs), and they share space with other bands that leave critics foaming at the mouth in DIY collective Slow Dance.
Despite some strong moments of camp and humour, 925 is a largely amorphous mass lacking in personality, overlong and padded with vaguely raveable mid-tempo dance rock. At their best, Lorenz’s deadpan delivery on the Mad World-interpolating twisted pub rock anthem Right Around the Clock has the midnight disco danger of Karen O and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It’s Lorenz who carries the pair – her sarcastic 'uggghhh's on Starstruck are so disgusted you can almost feel the phlegm hit your face – while O’Bryen’s takes are unbothered to the point of feeling effort-less rather than effortless.
It’s on the tracks where slyness invades the moody gloom that pervades the record that they really shine. Rock 'n' Roll Star is a wacky, acerbic takedown of classic rock tropes and characters (something they return to across the record), backed by a jumble of synths and brass creating a kind of manic aviary in the background.
But too many of the tracks dissolve into an atmosphere-for-the-sake-of-it sludge, yanking you into consciousness only every once in a while – Rosie’s creepy, repetitive vocal delivery, or the misty drear of As the Sun Sets. On the latter, they sing in unison 'I think to myself what a wonderful world' – another oh so pleased with themselves hint at something iconic that this music could never aspire to be. Luckily, Sorry offer enough promise that forgiveness should be easy.
Listen to: Right Around the Clock, Starstruck, Rock 'n' Roll Star