Inhaler at TRNSMT Festival 2019 (Gary Mather for Live4ever)
The island of Ireland (because apparently it’s law to use that moniker now) is a hotbed of talent at the moment.
Fontaines D.C. have had a very impressive year and are likely to continue to go from strength to strength with their forthcoming autumn tour (seeing as the whole UK leg is completely sold out they’d have to spectacularly mess it up) and The Murder Capital are following suit. Coming a bit further down the line and sure to have a big 2020 are snotty punks Touts and The Clockworks who, having signed to Alan McGee’s Creation 23 label, are already generating buzz by virtue of the industry legend heaping praise upon them.
And in the middle carriage, so far album-less but with a raft of strong songs, sit Inhaler.
They are a different proposition to the others though. Whilst all the aforementioned bands could be attributed to or associated with punk (specifically the post kind), this five-piece are more of a mainstream entity. Mixing the intense romance of The Killers with the emotional yearning of Coldplay, it’s very well-polished for ones so young, yet having been together since their school days (probably only a couple of years ago but still) they have a symbiosis that is difficult to fake.
They are also water-tight, held together by swaggering bass and the tumultuous Ryan McMahon on skins. Supporting Noel Gallagher, The Courteeners and Blossoms this year has very obviously taught them valuable lessons on how to get crowds, large or small, onside.
They do have pedigree when it comes to widescreen rock, as frontman Elijah Hewson is the offspring of one Bono Vox. While it seems churlish and unnecessary to make comparisons between the two frontmen, it’s also inescapable that Hewson does sound a lot like his old man, in that he has an impressive vocal range. On Cheer Up Baby the sincerity shines through, while on closer My Honest Face he makes the chorus skyrocket. In a wider context, the early 80s are a key touchstone; I Want You is a great lost Echo & The Bunnymen track and Ice Cream Sundae is anthemic New Romantic.
One imagines that Bono was more than aware of the inevitable comparisons that would be made, so it’s testament to Hewson Jnr that he’s not relying on just his larynx, providing some notable guitar solos throughout the set. While on the one hand having a famous father will at some points be a millstone around his neck, he’s had the benefit of being surrounded by music for all his life and it shows.
Nor are Inhaler building up a fanbase just because of who they are. It’s fair to say there are a lot of curious middle-aged U2 fans in attendance (t-shirts included) but for every one of them there’s an adoring teenager, worshipping in that unadulterated way that only they can.
If Inhaler can keep both demographics onside, and based on tonight there’s nothing to suggest they won’t, we’ll be seeing a lot more of them.
