Hard Life
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hard life (stylised in all lowercase), formerly known as Easy Life, is an English alternative indie pop group formed in Leicester in 2017. They came second in the 2020 edition of the BBC's Sound of..., an annual music poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. Their third mixtape, Junk Food, reached No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart a day after its release. Their debut studio album, Life's a Beach, was released on 28 May 2021.
The band ceased performing under the Easy Life name in October 2023, after they announced that they were being sued by easyGroup over the use of the "easy" name and were financially unable to contest the dispute in court. In June 2024 the band returned under the new name of Hard Life.
History
The band was formed by frontman Murray Matravers in mid-2017. They released their first single, "Pockets", via Chess Club Records in November 2017, and subsequently signed to Island Records. They released their debut mixtape, Creature Habits, in April 2018. Following the release of the singles "Frank" in July 2018 and "Nightmares" in September 2018, the band appeared on Later... with Jools Holland. They ended 2018 by releasing their fourth single, "Temporary Love Part 1" (with B-side "Temporary Love Part 2"), in December. In 2022 they took to Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage for their second Glastonbury appearance; they featured alongside former Brockhampton member Kevin Abstract, who joined them on stage and forgot his verse.[citation needed]
They released their second mixtape, Spaceships, containing the single "Sunday" in March 2019, and headlined the BBC Introducing stage at the Glastonbury Festival in June. Debuting as Annie Mac's "hottest record" on BBC Radio 1 in July, the band released the single "Earth". The music video, commenting on environmental issues, was shot at a plastic recycling plant in Morocco.
The band released their debut album Life's a Beach on 28 May 2021. It reached the number two spot on the UK Albums Chart. Their second album Maybe in Another Life..., released on 7 October 2022, also reached number two.
The band returned 18 months after their "Easy Life for the very last time" shows on the 18th of July 2025 with their third studio album Onion, announcing a UK tour shortly after.
Litigation and rebranding
In October 2023, The Times reported that Easy Life were being sued for trademark infringement by EasyGroup, a venture capital conglomorate. The company alleged that the band used their branding and imagery of EasyJet, a subsidiary of the group, in their 2021 and 2022 Life's a Beach tour. The band confirmed the lawsuit in a statement posted to their Instagram and X accounts, saying that they found the whole situation hilarious but they were "virtually powerless against such a massive corporation." In a statement to the BBC and The Guardian, a spokesman for EasyGroup referred to the band as "brand thieves." Following EasyGroup's statement the band posted a timeline of their activities from as early as 2015, and pointed out that EasyGroup's trademark application for "Easylife" had been registered in August 2022.
Later that month, Easy Life announced that they would change their name because they did not have the financial resources to continue with the litigation. They played their final performances under the Easy Life name on 12 October 2023 at O2 Academy Leicester, and on 13 October 2023 at Koko in London.
On 11 June 2024, the band announced their rebrand to Hard Life and released their single "Tears" the same day.
In April 2025, the band announced a new album, Onion, released on 18 July 2025, and released a new single, "Othello".
Band members
- Murray Matravers – vocals, synthesizer, keyboard, trumpet
- Oliver Cassidy – drums, percussion
- Lewis Alexander Berry – guitar, bass guitar
- Jordan Birtles – percussion, keyboard, backing vocals
Past member
- Sam Hewitt – bass guitar, saxophone, backing vocals (2017–2024)
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | IRE | SCO | |||
| Life's a Beach | Released: 28 May 2021 Label: Island Format: LP, digital download, streaming, CD | 2 | 47 | 4 | BPI: Silver |
| Maybe in Another Life... | Released: 7 October 2022 Label: Island Format: LP, digital download, streaming, CD | 2 | — | 2 | |
| Onion | Released: 18 July 2025 Label: Island Format: Digital download, streaming | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Mixtapes
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | SCO | ||
| Creature Habits | Released: 29 March 2018 Label: Easy Co Limited / Island Format: Digital download, streaming, vinyl | — | — |
| Spaceships | Released: 22 March 2019 Label: Easy Co Limited / Island Format: Digital download, streaming, vinyl | — | — |
| Junk Food | Released: 17 January 2020 Label: Island Format: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl | 7 | 23 |
| See You Later Maybe Never (Demos) | Released: 8 May 2020 Label: Island Format: Digital download, streaming | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Sales | ICE | JPN Over. | SCO | ||||
| "Pockets" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | Creature Habits | |
| "Frank" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Nightmares" | 54 | — | — | 82 | BPI: Silver | Life's a Beach | |
| "Temporary Love" | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Houseplants" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sunday" | — | — | — | — | Spaceships | ||
| "Earth" | — | — | — | — | Junk Food | ||
| "Nice Guys" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "sangria" (featuring Arlo Parks) | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Dead Celebrities" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Peanut Butter" / "Petty Crime" | — | — | — | — | See You Later Maybe Never (Demos) | ||
| "Daydreams" | — | — | — | — | Life's a Beach | ||
| "A Message to Myself" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Skeletons" | — | 14 | 16 | — | |||
| "Have a Great Day" | — | 9 | — | — | |||
| "Ocean View" | — | 18 | — | — | |||
| "Beeswax" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | Maybe in Another Life... | |
| "Dear Miss Holloway" (featuring Kevin Abstract) | — | — | — | — | |||
| "OTT" (featuring BENEE) | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Fortune Cookie" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Trust Exercises" | 2023 | 4 | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Tears" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | Onion | |
| "Othello" | 2025 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ogre" | — | — | 16 | — | |||
| "Y3llow Bike" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Notes
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Easy Life | NME Best New British Act | Won |