Sorrows

A tough but tuneful new wave pop band from New York City, Sorrows (no "the," please) were formed by guitarist and singer Arthur Alexander in 1977 a few months after the breakup of his influential power pop combo the Poppees. With tongue slightly in cheek, Alexander described his vision for Sorrows as "ABBA meets the Sex Pistols," and he recruited his former Poppees bandmate Jett Harris to play drums in the new group, along with guitarist Joey Cola and bassist Ricky Street. Sorrows soon made a name for themselves on the New York club scene, regularly playing CBGB's, Max's Kansas City, and other hip night spots, and in 1979, the band landed a record deal with Pavilion Records, a division of CBS. But while their debut album, 1980's Teenage Heartbreak, earned enthusiastic reviews and became a cult favorite among pop obsessives, the label's promotion was minimal and the record sold poorly. For their second album, 1981's Love Too Late, Sorrows were paired up with legendary producer Shel Talmy, who in the mid-'60s had worked with the Who, the Kinks, the Creation, and the Easybeats; unfortunately, the idea of working with Talmy was better than the results, and the album didn't fare as well with critics and sold no better than they debut. Sorrows broke up in the mid-'80s and the albums fell out of print, never appearing on CD as they became the stuff of legend among fans of '80s pop. In 2010, Bomp! Records released Bad Times Good Times, a collection of demos and alternate versions of material from Sorrows' debut album; Alexander also announced that Sorrows were playing a handful of reunion shows to support the new album's release, with the possibility of new recordings in the offing.