Easy Life Transmutes the Mundane into the Glamorous with 'Houseplants'
While it's exceedingly difficult to confine Easy Life's music to one specific genre, nothing describes the group's sound more flawlessly than its name. Earlier this year, the band released their Spaceships mixtape to positive reviews, with many outlets applauding the group's ingenious blend of modern hip-hop beats with smooth horn lines reminiscent of vintage soul records. On May 17, on the back of a momentous North American debut at SXSW earlier this spring and back-to-back performances at Coachella, the British five-piece released two new tracks titled "Houseplants" and "Spaghetti Hoops."
Each of the new releases chronicles the band's continuing quest to find meaning in the mundane. Frontman Murray Matravers grew up on a farm in the dreary, drizzly English Midlands, more accustomed to plucking turkeys and selling potatoes than the glitz and glam of a big city. "Houseplants" recounts one side of this quiet upbringing while "Spaghetti Hoops" illustrates its foil. In the former, Matravers unconcernedly rattles off lyrics recounting blissful memories of time spent with a summer love that sound as if he's reading passages from a diary. Set atop a blanket of hazy guitar chords and tastefully adorned with twinkling synths, the track evokes warm feelings of finding contentedness in simplicity.
On the other hand, "Spaghetti Hoops" expresses the frustrations at the stagnant nature of the ordinary. In a similarly scattershot, stream-of-consciousness execution as "Houseplants," Matravers wearily recounts how his dissatisfaction manifests in strained relationships and unconscionable drug use. During the hook, the frontman apathetically drawls, "If this headache sustains / I will blow out my brains," confessing the extremity of his discontent over a soporific haze of synths and muted drums.
A release that juxtaposes two singles running the gamut of human emotion, while maintaining a carefully curated sound, is business as usual for Easy Life. The group's music and message is deeply rooted in its members' personal truth. On the subject of the group's purpose, Matravers explained,
"Easy Life is a form of escapism. Living is proving to be increasingly difficult with all the pressures that modern life brings, and Easy Life rejects this materialistic philosophy; Easy Life is a hedonistic vision."
Easy Life will be continuing a run through the US festival circuit with performances at Boston Calling and Governors Ball before returning home to play Glastonbury later this summer. In the meantime, check out "Houseplants" and "Spaghetti Hoops" here:
