A name change and a dispute with an airline may continue to mark Easy to Hard Life for a while, but it’s inspiring to see them carry on. Here’s a band that didn’t have the backing to take on a budget airline, but wasn’t going to stand by and watch as their vicious, orange supremacy crushed them. Tears is the return and reorientation, and Hard Life could benefit somewhat from the momentum of their previous fight. These are all good things considering the efforts wasted by external forces. But who is then responsible for the reactionary style of Tears? Is this an artist gathering the pieces of his long-term project, or a chance to reawaken a creative urge fueled by a legitimate resentment towards big corporations? There’s room for growth in both directions, and it remains exciting, if elusive, what Hard Life will achieve.
A two-minute track with the hope of seeing you again. Well, here we are. It’s difficult Tears of his current struggle, the previous headache and legal battle. This is a tribute to his friends and the more obvious references to air miles and hiring a lawyer make it clear. A bit monotonous, but Hard Life knows that and keeps Tears short enough to sum up her thoughts on a major event in her career. Her pop-rap style has been overwhelmed by the gentrification of the heart – that oat milk is, to be honest, pretty tasty. Hard Life has seen you again and the best way to clear the air and move on to her next project is to tackle the last few months head on. What blew up on social media may not have reached those who aren’t dependent on tech.
Tears is a good way to engage with what happened. The episodes are well presented and honestly portrayed by Hard Life. It was hard to find anyone who wasn’t on their side when the EasyJet episodes began. Now they’re back and under a new name little has changed. Their consistency is still there, the difficulty of keeping in touch with old friends after moving away from your home town is there but such is growth. We meet, make up and move on like all people do. Heal and grow like Hard Life did. Two minutes is enough to understand the brutal realities that have undeservedly fallen on an interesting, hard-working artist’s head.
Creative endeavors are hard enough without the boot of conglomerates breathing down your neck, but Hard Life, once Easy Life, has adapted triumphantly. As well as you could expect from a truly horrific series of events. Recover and pull yourself together. The reason for this is not pride, but the pursuit of great art and work. Tears feels like a melodic footnote – an important one, mind you. One that would take up at least half a page in a modern history book. A beautiful song, but you don’t gain much more from hearing it than hearing what happened in a contemporary way. Hard Life will undoubtedly recover. If they’re lucky, it will bring new ears to their old work.
