Sorry make no apologies
You’d be forgiven for feeling skeptical about a band with a name like Sorry. If they feel the need to apologize for themselves in advance how good can they really be right? Sorry is however an appropriate moniker for a band that is by turns silly playful and at times hypercritical. The Calgary four-piece doesn’t sweat the small stuff but they are deliberate in their creative process and they exercise a keen attention to detail. If this seems contradictory you can chalk it up to that fact that Sorry is an enigma; a band that is continuously evolving and usurping expectations.
“Sorry came from a place of apology” says Christian Connor the band’s vocalist rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter. He doesn’t bother to clarify this statement instead choosing to remain vague about his activities prior to the band’s conception. It is actually very difficult to get any factual information out of any of the band’s members as they are constantly interrupting each other in conversation joking and indulging in elaborate fabrications.
During our interview the members of Sorry offer me three vastly differing accounts relating to the origins of the band’s name. Dallin Ursenbach the band’s lead guitarist offers to tell me the real story when Connor interjects “You don’t know the real story though.” “I’ve got my own story” asserts Ursenbach before continuing. “I always thought it was Christian apologizing in a profuse and beautiful way for [his previous band] Floppy Disc. They were playing a set and one of the most memorable parts was Christian saying ‘I’m really sorry guys.’”
It is this sort of charming dynamic that makes Sorry’s blend of ’60s classic rock proto-punk and new wave influences so alluring. On record the band sounds like Television or Bowie but janglier and with more reverb.
This fall the band recorded what was to be their debut EP but after their original drummer quit to focus on other projects the band scrapped the recordings. “I think we can do way better” speculates Ursenbach “but I really like those songs and I’d be really happy to play them for you.” The EP Pregnant is available on Bandcamp but the members of Sorry would be just as happy if you never heard it. “Bandcamp is just a nice subtle way to make your music available to people in a not-a-big-deal sort of way” says Ursenbach. “I just wanted to have a recording of it for myself so that I could be like ‘Oh yeah! That was my guitar solo!’”
“This Christmas we’ll be in the basement recording” adds Connor. “We talked about bringing recording into the household so that it’s something that we have more control over.” This month the band is also re-emerging as a live entity with their new drummer Jared Larsen. “It’ll be kind of like a second coming” laughs Connor. “We just need to keep jamming. You get a synchronicity from playing with other musicians that’s really easy to fall out of and really hard to obtain.”
Sorry has lofty goals and the motivation needed to achieve them but their communication skills need work. “I’d like to play Sled Island” says Connor when asked about Sorry’s immediate future “and I want to do shows with bands that I admire. We got offered a show with Makeout Videotape and Sans Aids in Edmonton which was cool.” “We did?” asks Ursenbach seeming confused but also a little bit impressed.
