SAHRA untethers herself from a souring relationship in smoky neo-soul cut “Sorry"

SAHRA’s latest cut "Sorry" is steeped in interesting temporal parallels. The track is thematically driven by the end of a relationship, and the complex feelings brought about by the conclusion of such an important and finite life chapter. However, it is also in many ways symbolic of new beginnings. Not only marking SAHRA’s first release since the pandemic began over two years ago, it also celebrates the liberation that can come in finding and prioritising yourself in the haze of a breakup. There is thus a peaceful resonance throughout the song that is a joy to bask in.

“"Sorry" is a breakup anthem about trying to let go of a toxic partner, the push and pull of your head and heart,” SAHRA shares. “I wanted it to be kind of song you want to scream along to in the car with your girls on your way to the club.”

The lyrics of "Sorry" masterfully navigate this poetic duality of emotions. The track’s hook “sorry doesn’t cut it please don’t say no more” brims with heartbreak, portraying a long and tumultuous relationship with its heady peaks and troughs. However, SAHRA also makes sure to emphasise that in untethering from her partner, she is regaining a sense of her own identity. “Held my tongue for hours, now it’s time to walk,” she sings, leaving the listener with a distinct sense of closure in her freedom.

The track oozes a smooth neo-soul and smoky R&B that nestles perfectly in the new record label she calls home, Rudimental’s Major Toms. The production sounds undeniably rich, expensive in its sultriness, and full in its layering of siren-like backing vocals against an electric static that underpins the chorus. This is unsurprising given many of SAHRA’s musical inspirations, Sade, Solange, and Nina Simone, reverberate in the echoes of "Sorry’s" composition.

Exuding a newly reflective and liberated energy, the possibilities for SAHRA’s next venture seem limitless. Currently holding a whole project’s worth of music close to her chest, it’s certainly an exciting prospect. It’s an impressive feat too that she has so many tracks ready to release, as SAHRA is as busy an artist as they come: between being a vocalist, a composer, and a performer, she also teaches music at her local primary school. If one thing’s for sure, however, it’s that the new-found confidence she has found in her artistic flair will gift us with more tantalising vocals and poetic magic before too long.