Words by Grace King
Fans were quite literally queued around the block in Brixton for the first night of two London tour dates for Irish indie rockers Inhaler. It was so long I missed the first support, The Guest List, but I managed to get in just in time to watch Gurriers, a post-punk quintet – a bit like Fontaines and The Murder Capital had a maniacal, shouty (but just a thoughtful lyrics – wise) baby.
From where I stood, there was a varying reception to the band – the closer the stage, the more energy as expected, but I seemed to be surrounded by a docile bunch who didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves very much.
A group in front of me sat on possibly the stickiest floor that’s ever gripped the soles of my shoes about 30 minutes into the support (bless them), which really begs the question as to why they didn’t book seats on the balcony. I can only assume they were quite literally stuck to the floor by the layer of spilt pints, and God knows what else because even when my friend and I were pushed into them, they did not get up. If you’re a concert etiquette enjoyer, I wouldn’t recommend an Inhaler gig. But, in all fairness they did manage to peel themselves off said floor as soon as an Arctic Monkeys tune started playing over the PA.
As a self professed ‘retired’ Inhaler fan girl, an opener like ‘My Honest Face’, brought it all back – oh, to be 17 again and ready to devote my life to any or all members of the band. But 3 years later, it all just felt a bit – dare I say, naff.
When your main audience is teenage girls, I understand the need to utilise and give them what they want, but it seems everything about the performance was a manufactured attempt to gain another TikTok of adoration.
Despite the addition of a new EP, the performance was not dissimilar from that of a ‘Cuts and Bruises’ – circa 2022 show, and I get it – stick with what works. The new tracks like ‘Eddie in the Darkness’ and ‘Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)’ went down as well as the debut album classics – ‘Cheer Up Baby’ and ‘When it Breaks’.
They can certainly keep a crowd’s attention, flitting between well-known and new, at one point Elijah Hewson (lead singer) even shouts out, “Inhaler only plays the hits!”
It seems like every new release from the band becomes an instant favourite with the fanbase. I remember back in the day, my friends and I frantically tried to learn all of the words to songs on their second album in the three days between its release and the gig.
The new songs are a little more pop-y, and with producer Kid Harpoon (a favoured producer of Harry Styles and the like) it’s clear to see they are leaving their slightly angsty indie rock behind and replacing it with this new sound. It works, it’s fun, it’s catchy, and with not a single expletive on the album, it’s perfect for maximum radio plays.
Maybe I have become cynical over time, or more likely I have just outgrown the band but we left the venue agreeing that we came for the classics, we stayed for the new tunes and we left feeling, well, kind of over it.
