Everyone Says Hi return with another taste of their forthcoming sophomore album Funny Cos It’s True, unveiling the infectious new single Life Isn’t Perfect ahead of the record’s release on 9th October 2026.
The guitar-driven pop rocker arrives packed with huge hooks, psychedelic and prog-tinged synths and a hazy retro sheen, delivering the kind of instantly memorable chorus that feels tailor-made for a festival main stage. It follows the previously released Real Friends and continues to showcase a band increasingly confident in their own distinctive blend of indie, pop and alternative rock.
Everyone Says Hi @ O2 Academy Brixton
For frontman and songwriter Nick Hodgson, Life Isn’t Perfect almost didn’t make it to its final form. Although the song had already been completed and mixed, former The Vaccines guitarist Freddie Cowan was invited to experiment with some additional guitar parts after hearing the album.
“This song was finished, but it wasn’t finished,” Hodgson explains. “He sent back about 35 tracks of guitar which was crazy and amazing. The result became some of my favourite moments on the album.”
Those additional layers help give the track much of its character, adding another dimension to an already hook-heavy arrangement. Hodgson describes the song as having a classic R.E.M.-style chorus that emerged almost instinctively during the writing process, while its lyrics draw inspiration from an altogether more domestic source.
The central idea came from a phrase Hodgson’s young daughter had learned at nursery: “you get what you get and you don’t get upset”. What began as a piece of lunchtime etiquette has evolved into a song about accepting life’s imperfections, albeit delivered with enough melodic immediacy to make the message considerably more infectious than its philosophical origins might suggest.
Life Isn’t Perfect is the latest indication of how far Everyone Says Hi have developed since releasing their self-titled debut album in 2025. Recorded and produced by Hodgson at his North London home studio, Funny Cos It’s True expands the band’s sound across 11 tracks, combining vintage influences with contemporary indie-pop songwriting and an emphasis on big, anthemic choruses.
Everyone Says Hi @ O2 Academy Brixton
The album also finds Hodgson exploring considerably more personal territory. Its songs touch on grief following the death of his father from Alzheimer’s, the experience of fatherhood and his relationship with his young daughter, while another track takes aim directly at the MAGA political movement.
Despite those weightier themes, the record promises plenty of colour and melodic ambition. The band describe the album as a reinvention of a classic sound rather than a simple exercise in nostalgia, with its retro textures providing a backdrop for songs that remain firmly rooted in the present.
The collaborative nature of Funny Cos It’s True also marks an important development from the debut. Work on the album began after Everyone Says Hi had spent time on the road supporting their first record. In November 2024, Hodgson and the band quickly captured a demo of Real Friends at his North London home studio, setting the process in motion.
Six months of writing followed before the musicians reconvened to begin recording. Between May and September 2025, sporadic studio sessions saw the five-piece work collectively on the new material, allowing the album to grow organically from the band’s increasingly established live identity.
That live experience has been an important part of Everyone Says Hi’s development. Following the release of their debut, the band found themselves supporting major acts including Neil Young, The Cribs and Feeder, before rounding out 2025 with headline performances in London and Leeds. Those appearances have helped the band build a growing audience around their energetic and captivating live shows, and they will take that momentum into October with a series of intimate UK release shows.
The run begins at Wax & Beans in Bury on 10th October before travelling to Liverpool’s Jacaranda the following evening. The band then visit Applestump in Nantwich and Crash in Leeds, followed by Just Dropped In in Coventry on 15th October. The UK run continues at Dash The Henge in Brixton, London, on 17th October before culminating with an appearance at Mutations Festival in Brighton on 24th October.
For Hodgson, Everyone Says Hi represents a new chapter following his years as the drummer and principal songwriter of Kaiser Chiefs. He is joined in the current line-up by Pete Denton of The Kooks, Ben Gordon of The Dead 60s, Glenn Moule of Howling Bells and guitarist Oli Swan, bringing together musicians with backgrounds spanning several generations of British alternative and indie rock.
The result is a group that combines considerable experience with the feeling of a relatively new band still discovering precisely what it can become. The self-titled debut established the foundations; Funny Cos It’s True looks set to build something considerably bigger on top of them.
With Life Isn’t Perfect providing another dose of irresistible hooks and the full album now just weeks away, Everyone Says Hi enter the next phase of their story with a growing catalogue, an increasingly assured live presence and plenty of songs seemingly built to be shouted back from a festival crowd.
Upcoming UK & Ireland Live Dates:
OCTOBER
10th – Bury, Wax & Beans
11th – Liverpool, The Jacaranda
12th – Nantwich, Applestump
13th – Leeds, Crash
15th – Coventry, Just Dropped In
17th – London, Dash The Henge, Brixton
24th – Brighton, Mutations Festival
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