Muller teased the release of her debut album through her social media pages. On 25 May 2023, Muller announced that Sorry I'm Late was scheduled to be released on 15 September 2023, with the cover art and tracklist being revealed on the same day as the album announcement.[4] The album will be released on compact disc, cassette, vinyl, and through digital music platforms. Different bundles have been made available on her website.[6] On 7 September, Muller announced that the album would be delayed, and was rescheduled for release on 29 September.[7]
Music and lyrics
Sorry I'm Late consists of seventeen tracks, three of which have been released as singles. "Better Days", a collaboration with Neiked and Polo G was released on 24 September 2021, and was described by Universal Music Canada as "a dreamy, upbeat slice of pop perfection that is filled with joy and hope".[8]Out Now described the song as "a high-energy pop anthem whose optimistic outlook is undeniably catchy".[9] The song is written in the key of C minor, with a tempo of 110 beats per minute.[10] The album's second single, "I Just Came to Dance" was released on 27 October 2022, with the album being described as "vulnerable" and "empowering".[11] "I Wrote a Song" was released on 9 March 2023 and following confirmation of Muller representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, was later announced as the entry.[12][13][14] It was described as a balearic and Latin-pop song with elements of electropop.[15]
Singles
"Better Days", a collaboration with Neiked and Polo G was released on 24 September 2021 as the record's lead single. "I Just Came to Dance" was released on 27 October 2022 as the album's second single. "I Wrote a Song" was released on 9 March 2023 as the album's third single and which is also Muller's entry at Eurovision Song Contest 2023. "Me, Myself & I" was released on 29 June 2023 as album's fourth single. "MTJL (Maybe That's Just Life)" was released on 25 August 2023 as project's fifth track and to make up for the albums delay, on the original release date, September 15th 2023 Mae released the promotional single "Written By A Woman" which serves as the albums closing track. "Nervous (In A Good Way)" is the most recent single from the record being the sixth single which was released alongside the album, on September 29, 2023.
Sorry I'm Late received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, a website that aggregates reviews of music albums, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]
Charlotte Manning of Attitude stated that "[Muller] isn't afraid to stick her neck out on the line to stay authentic", describing the album as a "beautifully put together pop album".[1] Writing for Clash, Ahmed Narzra wrote that "On Sorry I'm Late, Mae Muller shows that it takes time to perfect and craft a great pop album and that's what she has done here. Every track could be, and probably should be, a single."[17]DIY's Emily Savage noted that "Capturing the highs and lows of womanhood via catchy pop, Sorry I'm Late may have been a long time coming (see what she did there), but it's worth the wait."[18]Dork writer Martyn Young praised the album by saying that "It ticks all the boxes for what energised and vital big pop sounds like in 2023", but criticised its lack of "instinctive dynamism to make it really stand out of the crowd and fly".[19] According to Sophie Williams from NME, "Sorry I'm Late is a lot more fun when it stops trying so hard to prove itself."[22] Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Finlay Holden opined that "Sorry I'm Late is certainly a belated arrival but it shows signs of positive momentum for Mae Muller.", but complained that "it's just a shame that any sense of sonic bravery wasn't given the opportunity to carry that influence further."[20]
