It's Immaterial are an indie pop band from Liverpool formed in 1980. Life's Hard and Then You Die is the debut album by the band, released in September 1986. The album was released several months after the single "Driving Away from Home (Jim's Tune)" reached the top twenty on the UK Singles Chart, and spent three weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 62.
Past Night From Glasgow reissue Life's Hard and Then You Die on red and white vinyl, shipping in 2023.
Simon Braithwaite of Smash Hits wrote that Life's Hard and Then You Die shows that It's Immaterial "write jolly good pop songs. In fact everything else here is just as inspired and original as their recent hit." In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of All Music wrote, "Musically, the LP is all over the place – new wave country, blues, folk, and synth pop. Somehow the smorgasbord of styles works, because the band members aren't being eclectic just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh from beginning to end.