After finally settling into a sound of their own, the members of sorry forever are ready to be heard. The Midwest-indie band recently released its debut EP, “learning to be,” on Dec. 7, and it’s only the beginning of what the band hopes to accomplish.
sorry forever features Ocean Thoreau on vocals and guitar, Sean Wilkinson on lead guitar, Sin Ham on bass and Jay Piser on drums. Together, they shape a well-rounded, Midwest-emo sound that leans more on the mellow side but cuts just as deep.
The band’s current lineup once looked very different. Wilkinson joined after responding to an ad depicting the band’s need for a guitarist. Ham originally played drums, but when the band’s original bassist left, she taught herself bass in just a few months to step into the role.
When Piser joined on the drums, everything finally clicked.
sorry forever’s first show all together took place in March 2024 after only one practice together. It was a risk, but one that paid off immediately.
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“(Jay) is really great at listening,” Ham said. “He’s really great at anticipating changes and listening to music ahead of time, so he knows where everything’s gonna be. That first show was proof that like, ‘Okay, yeah, this dude’s pro. This feels very right.’”
The name of the band came from a relatable sense of self-awareness. Thoreau noticed they had a habit of apologizing too much, and the phrase eventually stuck.
That sense of openness fit naturally into the local music scene, which the band says has been very welcoming and supportive. Thoreau admitted they initially felt hesitant about performing at house shows, unsure if the band’s mellow sound would fit alongside other artists.
“Sometimes we’re on a bill, and I’ll talk to (the band), and I’m like, ‘I’m kinda nervous, I feel like we don’t fit in,’” Thoreau said. “Every time we’ve played a house show, it’s been really great, and all the other bands have been like, ‘You guys sound really tight!’”
However, the band quickly learned that songwriting requires a different kind of confidence than performing.
Wilkinson and Thoreau wrote all four songs on the EP. It was Wilkinson’s first time writing music, which elicited some contradictory feelings about the process.
“You can get so in your head about what’s gonna sound good, what’s not gonna sound good,” Wilkinson said. “With playing live, it’s so much of just being in the moment, and whatever happens happens.”
sorry forever’s songs draw from themes of depression and anxiety, a common trope in Midwest-emo music. That influence is clear on the track “thirteen.” Thoreau wrote the song about feeling lost in their identity at a young age.
“Writing ‘thirteen’ feels extra vulnerable because some people know the event of why that’s an important year for me and how it changed the trajectory of how my life has gone,” Thoreau said. “Being able to be that vulnerable is definitely nerve-wracking, but I think it’s very important.”
Now, the song feels less like a wound and more like a symbol of growth. Thoreau says that releasing it felt cathartic — turning something private into something they no longer had to carry alone.
sorry forever had been performing its original songs long before entering the studio, but recording them helped fully shape each track. Producer Andrew M Rodriguez understood the vision and pushed the band to add depth to its songwriting and instrumentation.
Outside of the music itself, the band operates entirely on its own. The band members schedule interviews, handle promotion and do their best to get the EP into people’s hands. The band hopes to work with a smaller label down the line, but only if creative control stays intact.
“If you’re tied to a record label and … all you’re thinking about doing is making money when you’re making music, it can get kinda monotonous, and it can get soulless,” Piser said. “I definitely don’t want that to impact our music or the songwriting process in general.”
Looking ahead, sorry forever is focused on putting out new music in the new year.
“It feels like people are really finally starting to get more eyes on our music,” Ham said. “Our names are kind of more out there, so (we) just really wanna keep that momentum going.”
