Sorry We Weren’t Here Before Full EP “Forest Lights” Balanced Melody And Intensity To Hit A Post-Punk Target

Last June we enjoyed the debut single of Berlin’s Sorry We Weren’t Here Before and have been waiting for the full EP which was released late October on Germany’s Agoge Records label. The trio have once more plowed deeply into Post-Punk furrows with energy and intensity that show their focus is right on target with powerful vocals, guitars, and bass predominating. The first single, “Vibrations Will Told” hit close to the mid-period Killing Joke mark and the rest of the EP compares favorably to like minded groups like The Chameleons. So consider this prime guitar axis music.

Sorry We Weren’t Here Before: Forest Lights EP – GER – DL [2025]

Dancing Wings 4:48
Vibrations Will Told 4:22
Behind The Times 5:02
Child In Your Heart 3:15
Faithful Lights 3:53

The guitar playing of Gianmarco Bellumori was more than capable of sustaining interest throughout the first minute and a half of the opening song, “Dancing Wings” as the cascades of guitar took over after the synths of the first bar in the extended intro. Building up and releasing in waves of tension as the rhythm section followed the guitar’s lead. It sounded like a classic even before vocalist Robert Koric entered the fray.

Koric’s sonorous vocals hinted at the influence of Julian Cope in his phrasing. Lending his performance an authority and confidence that meshed well with the caliber of the guitarist Bellumori and bassist Sandy Pötzsch. The drum programming kept the pace humming so capably that the song’s cold ending managed to creep up perfectly to surprise our ears.

The bell like guitar harmonics that opened “Behind The Times” offered delicacy in the intro and then the rhythm leads began to weave their spell on the enchanting, mid-tempo song. The wordless chanting in the middle eight breakdown was a left field move that really worked well to let the song climax in an unpredictable and impressive fashion.

The fast tempo of “Child In Your Heart” coupled with its brief running time had “single” written all over it. I enjoyed the prominence given to the bass in the mix here. And the distorted, flanged bass in the closing “Faithful Lights” showed a willingness to keep the listener guessing. The young band seemed to have an interest in covering as much ground as they would while cohering into a vibe. The slow pace of the atmospheric track really allowed vocalist Koric a borad canvas to apply those powerful vocals to; this time using split octave magic that twinned strongly with the synth strings. Take a listen here.

The trio have made a uniformly strong first EP that lays out their foundation successfully, but The vibe here was careful and tightly focused, and I’d like to hear what might happen if they let their horses run free. If you want to listen casually, they have their songs streaming in the usual places, but if you want to add this to your own personal Record Cell, the DL on Bandcamp is up to 24/48 uncompressed and can be yours for €8.00. DJ hit that button!