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It’s been anything but an Easy Life for the Leicester five-piece in recent months. Second album ‘Maybe In Another Life’ was delayed by seven weeks last summer while triumphant headline tours in Europe and North America pencilled in for later this year were cancelled due to how expensive everything is right now.
It’s a very modern run of unfortunate circumstances, but Easy Life have always provided an optimistic soundtrack to modern struggles. Tonight (Feb 25), as they headline London’s Alexandra Palace, the band do everything in their power to create an escapist house party that’s heavy on posi-vibes. Taking to the stage wearing matching leather jackets, Easy Life lean into their reputation as an “unlikely boyband” while the hazy funk of ‘Growing Pains’ and the tropical pop of ‘Daydreaming’ provides a pristine opening.
That polish doesn’t last for long though. ‘Basement’ offers a touch of industrial scuzz while ‘Sangria’ offers the first of many explosive singalongs. Halfway through ‘OTT’, vocalist Murray Matravers decides he wants a fan to join them onstage. “Quick, Ally Pally. Does anyone play the guitar,” he asks. Someone from the front row is then hurried onstage just in time for the distorted outro. It’s a bit messy but that’s when Easy Life are at their best.
Later, Matravers channels his inner Oli Sykes when he demands the audience open the pit up for ‘Peanut Butter’ while during rowdy festival anthem ‘Nightmares’, he crowdsurfs to the very back of the venue before having to awkwardly make the long walk back to the stage.
There’s a touch of The 1975’s theatrics to Easy Life, from the show’s instrumental introduction to the theatrics that introduce special guest Gus Dapperton for a glorious run through of ‘Antifreeze’, but the band have much more in common with the likes of Glass Animals. Easy Life’s emotional indie is given a euphoric twist live and the entire show feels more like a never-ending celebration than a series of self-reflections.
There were still moments of heartfelt sincerity, though. Matravers calls the show “the greatest achievement of all” for the band while multi-instrumentalist Sam Hewitt takes to the mic for a powerful speech about depression and suicide. “Please, talk to your friends. Let people know how you feel. You shouldn’t ever feel like nobody cares, because we all care,” he encourages before the piano-led gut-punch of ‘Fortune Cookie’ and the woozy ‘Dear Miss Holloway’ round out the night.
Tonight’s show at London’s Alexandra Palace sees one of Britain’s Best New Bands crank up the ambition at a time where their lush anthems of perseverance couldn’t be more needed. Everything might feel a little uncertain right now and Easy Life have never pretended to have the answers but during their biggest ever headline show, there was nothing but joy. The sooner they can share that with the rest of the world, the better.
Easy Life played:
‘Maybe In Another Life’
‘Growing Pains’
‘Daydreams’
‘Sangria’
‘Basement’
‘Dead Celebrities’
‘OTT’
‘Slow Motion’
‘Sunday’
‘Buggin’
‘Frank’
‘Silver Linings’
‘Ojpl’
‘Calling In Sick’
‘Skeletons’
‘Ocean View’
‘Peanut Butter’
‘Trust Exercises’
‘Antifreeze’ with Gus Dapperton
‘Nightmares’
‘Beeswax’
‘Pockets’
‘Fortune Cookie’
‘Dear Miss Holloway’
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Ronnie Radke has claimed that Max Georgiev was dismissed from Falling In Reverse due to allegations of sexual misconduct, accusations that Georgiev has firmly rejected.
Georgiev exited the Las Vegas metalcore group in 2024. Last week, the band’s frontman Ronnie Radke shared an Instagram post stating that the guitarist was removed after allegedly admitting to a sexual relationship with an underage girl.
“For those that are wondering why I fired the guitarist,” Radke wrote, according to Lambgoat, “it’s because he admitted to sleeping with a minor ten years before he [was] in my band [when] he was 27 years old. Have fun with that.”
Georgiev, who joined Falling In Reverse in 2018 and now performs with metal outfit Vio-lence, responded shortly after, denying the allegations. “To the fans, I have never done anything illegal with a minor,” said Max Georgiev. “Fifteen years ago, when I was 23, I still lived in Quebec, Canada.”
“Since then, I have played for several bands who never mentioned inappropriate behavior on my part,” he continued. “I have always had great respect for the fans. I have strived to play my heart out for you.”
Radke’s Instagram account has since appeared to be removed, something he addressed during a livestream. “Maybe me talking about my old guitar player getting fired for finding out he was hooking up with minors, I think that AI might’ve caught that and was like, ‘You gotta go’,” he suggested, as reported by Loudwire".
“This man not only did that, [but] the parents of the minor ten years before he was in my band found out, they confronted him, he lied about his age so he could continue doing that with her. He wasn’t 23, he was older. He’s lying about that,” Radke went on to claim.
In a subsequent statement shared on Thursday January 8, Georgiev again rejected Radke’s accusations, calling them “delusional”. “I met someone who turned eighteen a few months later while I occasionally dated her,” he said. “This was fifteen years ago, when I was 23 in Quebec, Canada.”
“Her parents never confronted me because the girl only had a mother. I never lied to her or her daughter about anything.”
Georgiev later suggested that his departure from Falling In Reverse may instead have been linked to him “taking the initiative to learn nine songs of another band”, which he identified as Disturbed.
Elsewhere, Radke has reportedly filed a temporary restraining order against Brittany Furlan, citing alleged harassment connected to a catfish controversy from last year.
He has repeatedly alleged that Furlan, the estranged wife of Tommy Lee, was involved with someone impersonating him online. The filing asks that she be required to remain at least 100 yards away from him. Representatives for Furlan have said they are “aware” of the request and maintain that the allegations are “not accurate”.
Radke also saw his defamation lawsuit against Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop dismissed last year.
