easy life cap North American tour with Los Angeles debut
On an innocent Tuesday evening in May, the intimate vibes of The Troubadour welcomed easy life to West Hollywood, CA. The quintet hailing from Leicester, England provided their unique and sultry sounds to a sold-out packed house.
If we’re being truthful, it can be difficult finding a band with a similar style. Two fans nearby discussing their mutual admiration for the group compared them to Jamiroquai. With all due respect to the 90’s jazz funk scene, these new blokes blow them out of the water.
Front man Murray Matravers caught my attention nearly three years. The band made the lineup for Coachella 2019 and won the crowd over with their sexy single, “Sunday.”
Singing with such mellow delivery, Matravers makes it easy (no pun intended) to follow the groove and follow along. Sure, you can find heavier bands up and down the Sunset Strip, yet not everyone’s cup of tea.
Forming in 2017, easy life also features Sam Hewitt (bass guitar, saxophone), guitarist Lewis Alexander Berry, keyboardist Jordan Birtles, and drummer Oliver Cassidy.
In less than five years they have released four projects (Creature Habits, Junk Food, Spaceship, Life’s A Beach), performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and won the NME for Best New British Act in 2020.
Tracks like “Dead Celebrities,” “homesickness,” and “Skeletons” offer a diverse vocal range, and separate easy life from the indie pop genre.
Observing audiences can be a solid litmus test for new groups breaking into the U.S. For Los Angeles we noticed sorority girls, La Brea fashionistas, tech bros and punks mixed in, quite the array.
Saving their latest single towards the end of the night, “BEESWAX” speaks on privacy, painting a picture of modern-day Britain and had the room jumping.
Something about the saxophone and self-conscious lyrics make for a deadly combination. The encore saw the 5-piece jam on “nightmares” with the chorus:
Who gives a fuck about my nightmares?
No use in moaning when they’re right there
It’s safe to say these English gentlemen can sleep comfortably knowing America has welcomed them with open arms.
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