Looking Back at Easy Life

At the beginning of October, Easy Life revealed they were being sued by the licensing company, EasyGroup, over their name.

The British band, who has been using the name since 2017, has tried their hardest to avoid the bullying tactics of the corporation but decided that the legal fees are not worth it. Murry Matravers, the band’s frontman, talks more about the situation in a recent Instagram post.

As the name change signifies the end of an era for the band, I want to highlight some of my favorite songs, in an attempt to bring in some new listeners for what’s yet to come.

Sangria feat. Arlo Parks

This was the first Easy Life song I listened to, as well as their most popular. The track has a nice groove and Parks’s voice is so smooth over the beat. It’s also a good representation of the band’s overall sound. You have the jazzy/ lo-fi production with Matravers’s rap-influenced flow.

Skeletons

I enjoy the dance songs the band releases. It’s nice to have something upbeat to offset some of the more lo-fi, ambient moments. Some other examples are “Basement” and “Nice Guys” but I love how they pronounce “Skele-ons” on this track. Corny dad joke: Why don’t British people say the letter “t”? Because they drank them all.

Earth

This song resonated with me in so many ways in high school. Finding a place to call home and feel like yourself is difficult, and this song expresses the idea as if you’re an alien. I also love the little production details like including the synths as alien noises or sampling the “Have you ever had a dream” vine.

Beeswax

This is a song to listen to when you’re feeling a little cocky, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. It also showcases how dynamic the band’s style is. If you shuffle their discography, you’ll go from “Beeswax”, this 90’s hip-hop influenced, bad-boy anthem, to “temporary love part 2” a ballad about being in a fleeting romance.

Memory Loss

“MEMORY LOSS” comes from the band’s second album Maybe In Another Life…, which is my favorite project so far, because of how honest it feels. Especially here, where Matravers talks about how life moves so fast that when we finally get a chance to look at ourselves it’s always in hindsight. I was a freshman at UH when I first listened to this song and you bet, I cried like a baby.

Unfortunately, Easy Life is at risk of losing everything they’ve worked so hard for these past six years because of corporate greed. On October 13^th,  the band released “trust exercises”, their final song under the name Easy Life.

Hopefully, the band can come back with a new name, new music, and maybe with a few new listeners. To hear more, check out the playlist below.