Gig Review: Inhaler
I felt like I had the luck of the Irish being able to see Dublin's rock quartet in the 3arena
Inhaler are a gifted band. Both in recordings and when performing live they are truly talented. They’re not bad looking either, and being Irish doesn’t exactly take away from that. This is just me reflecting on what I saw from thousands of screaming girls around me, of course.
We were lucky enough to see them in the city they were formed- Dublin. It was clear just how much the band were up for performing in their hometown where it all began, and that was reciprocated in the excitement from the crowd.
Inhaler’s songs are fast paced and look like hard work to perform, especially for Elijah Hewson, who plays guitar whilst singing, which is always more demanding than just doing one or the other.
That much was visible by the sweat dripping from Elijah, but his ability to play tricky fast paced rhythms whilst singing pretty flawlessly was as impressive as he was hot (just in a sense of temperature, obviously).
What better song for a band to open with than These Are The Days? The message behind it makes it the perfect introduction. It starts with a bit of guitar feedback, the bands’ signature heavy and distorted bass sound along with the lively rhythm of Ryan McMahon’s drumming, supported by a nostalgic (but not cheesy) synth sound.
One of the best things about Inhaler’s music is how they build their songs up, and this is a great example. There’s an instrumental intro but when Elijah enters with the vocals (a perfectly paced melody by the way) the backing track minimalizes; the synths and electric guitar are taken out and the bass playing becomes muted. Then just before the chorus, the guitar creeps back in.
It's a very clever way to structure a song; it lets the track breathe builds up tension before the chorus, making the hook hit even harder, especially when it’s performed live.
And that is something Inhaler are brilliant at. This band knows how to write a catchy hook. Their lyrics in general aren’t anything special but in terms of writing memorable songs that are great fun to shout along to, they nail it almost every time.
Other examples which were played on the night include the (rightly) popular It Won’t Always Be Like This, the simple yet impactful If You’re Gonna Break My Heart, the heavy My Honest Face, and to me, their best song, Love Will Get You There. Harmonically and rhythmically, it is their most interesting track. The vocals are stellar, but you can tell it’s not the easiest hit to perform; it was the only song where I thought Elijah lost his way a bit, but only at the beginning. The best musicians recover and that’s exactly what he did.
Throughout the gig his vocals were more or less immaculate. He uses a breathier tone in his lower registry, then wails (in the best sense) as he reaches the top notes, almost as if his voice is about to crack, but it never does. He doesn’t sing with an Irish accent and sounds quite American. As much as I enjoy his vocals, I’m a sucker for when singers emphasise their natural accents when they perform. It’s one of the best ways to make your voice distinctive.
But I do hear a bit of Jeff Buckley when Elijah sings, which isn’t a bad thing at all. With the band, I also hear the influences of the Liverpudlian and Mancunian groups from the 90s and it was no surprise when I researched their influences that I saw Elijah mention as much in an interview with entertainment.ie.
They also inevitably played Dublin In Ecstasy, which was just a brilliant explosion of green, especially on the guitar solo, which is my favourite guitar part of any of their songs. Straight out the early 2000s indie scene.
Inhaler are underrated and they sound even better live than they do on their recordings. They’ve got a unique sound and all the ingredients to build themselves a legacy as a hugely successful group. This wasn’t just a concert to keep me satisfied, it was a perfect storm, and one I will (genuinely, not in a cliched sense) always remember.