INHALER

IT’S BEEN A LONG, HARD ROAD THESE LAST 15 MONTHS OR SO, BUT THE THING TO REMEMBER IS...IT WON’T ALWAYS BE LIKE THIS. IT’S NOT JUST WISE WORDS TO HOLD ONTO, IT’S ALSO THE TITLE OF THE PERFECTLYTIMED AND ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL DEBUT ALBUM BY DUBLIN’S RISING STARS INHALER.

The young Irish band - Elijah Hewson, Robert Keating, Josh Jenkinson and Ryan McMahon - were already well on their way to the big leagues well before they had even recorded a note of the album, but one listen to what they’ve came out with is all the proof if needed that it’s only a matter of time before they’re a household name.

It’s an album full of powerful and defiant anthems, a classic coming-of-age record that is ready and waiting to soundtrack a summer of (hopefully) freedom and connection. It’s a debut album that couldn’t have come at a better time and is all the better for it.

Frontman Eli said: “We’ve been thinking about this album for about four years, ever since we formed the band and started playing gigs. It Won’t Always Be Like This is one of the first songs we ever wrote and we’ve played it at every show we’ve ever done. There was a point before the pandemic where we thought we had the album and were confident we could go in, record it and deliver something great, which I think we would have. When lockdown happened though, we obviously had a massive drive to do something during it, so we put so much more effort into writing more material and came up with five more songs for the album, which made it so much better. We couldn’t do anything else, so the only thing we had control over was writing songs. In the end we came out with an album that we are all really, really proud of.

Making so much of it remotely was a different experience, though. There’s a natural delay on Zoom, so when you’re trying to pitch an idea to someone, it’s weird. Being in a band and not being able to play music together was even worse, so it was a tough one from that perspective, but we just played the cards we were dealt and got on with it. We were lucky, as we could just go back to the bedrooms we grew up in and try to write songs, but the whole live music industry completely shut down. That’s how we always tested songs though, by playing them live and seeing people’s reactions to them, if they love them or if they go to the bar. So when we didn’t get that, it was a little nerve-wracking writing music not knowing how people were going to react, but I think in the end it gave us a lot of room to experiment and be comfortable with the music ourselves.”

Drummer Ryan agrees with his mate, saying: It taught us to trust our instincts more to know whether or not we were writing something that we ourselves felt was good, rather than leaving it up to other people to decide that for us. That can be a dangerous thing too, but I suppose we’ve taken a leap of faith.”

They didn’t quite go entirely on their own opinions though, as Sheffield producer and musician Anthony Genn (Pulp, Elastica, Joe Strummer) was on hand with words of wisdom, something bassist Robert was really grateful for, saying: “I think a big part of it is us having a good producer, as it’s really important to have someone outside of the band that you trust to be honest with you, especially in the music industry where a lot of times people don’t tell you the truth. Our producer Ant really helped us with that. He’s brutally honest, so we trust his opinion and work really well together.”

Half of the album was already written before lockdown and the other half during it, but the whole thing still has a unifying theme and idea behind it. It’s about being young, being lost and being found again.

Eli said: “ We wrote the title track when we were about 17, when you don’t have all that much to talk about as you’re still a kid really. But those six words: ‘It won’t always be like this’, we always felt they were something to hang onto, that things will get better. But it can mean things can get worse too, which we’ve realised later and really like now, as it can apply to both. Nothing stays the same forever. When lockdown kicked in, we really sobered up and you couldn’t help talking about your surroundings and the world we were in, so some of the lyrics definitely It Won’t Always Be Like This isn’t just the band’s debut album, it’s the record they have spent their entire lives building up to and everything they’ve experienced so far, for good or ill, has gone into it.

Eli said: “Every feeling, every sound, every band we’ve liked, it does feel like they’re all in this album. It feels like the end of an era in a way, but it also feels like the start of a new one. We’ve started writing music for the second one and it’s been pouring out of us pretty fast.”

The band’s guitar player Josh is firmly on the same page as Eli, adding: “I think it’s a strange position to be in with our first album as there’s songs on it that we’ve been playing at every gig since we started, which is usually the way it happens, but half of ours have been written since live shows were taken away from us. So it’s interesting for us to think about the gigs and how people are going to respond to them, how they’ll interpret them and react to them in a live setting. We’re really proud of the record we’ve made and we think it’s going to do a lot of good things for a lot of people. At least we hope so.”

Those themes of being young and lost, but finding your way again are universal for sure, but Eli is aware that the last year has brought a whole new element of uncertainty into the lives and emotions of young people, which is something they don’t shy away from confronting on the album. For them, music has been the thing that has kept them going though and none of them can imagine ever doing anything else with their lives.

He said: “A lot of the songs are inspired by that weird territory between being an adult and a teenager. I think especially going through that period of your life during a major global pandemic is an interesting experience to say the least. There’s a lot of sh*t to talk about. So the record definitely does encapsulate a lot of that. It’s about being lost and finding yourself again. I couldn’t imagine myself being an architect or something like that. I always wanted to be in music. I was used to seeing big stadium productions when I was a kid, obviously. My mum would bring me on and I’d see all the crew running around everywhere. When we started the band though, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before, as we were just driving ourselves around, playing gigs while underage, trying to sneak into places and the like. It was just a fresh experience that we Inhaler are where they are right now due in no small part to what has been a relentless touring schedule over the last four years. Make no mistake, this is a band who have paid their dues working their way up from nowhere to a point where their upcoming tour includes massive gigs at the Glasgow Barrowland, London’s Kentish Town Forum and four homecoming shows at the Dublin Academy. It’s been hard graft, but for them they’re doing what they love and can’t wait to get back to it.

Eli said: “As a band, playing live is what we live and breathe for, so to be putting out music and the only way to get reactions from it is by reading Instagram comments or looking at streams doesn’t feel good. We’re happy to be able to still put out music, but we really, really want to play gigs. It’s like missing half your body. I think we’re just shocked that there’s that many people who have heard our music and want to come and see us. We’re amazed by it every single day and really grateful, as well. We can’t wait to see them all in the flesh.”

Ryan is equally excited, but not just for him and his band, saying: “We’ve been talking a lot about what we really want to do though, is get our crew working again. We were fortunate enough to be able to go home and keep working on our music, but they haven’t been able to do their jobs for well over a year now, which is awful. They’re just as essential to the live experience as we are, if not more. They put on the show. There’s something special about being on a tour bus and waking up in a different place every day. We’ve had some great times, so we’re really excited about getting back out there again, it’s going to be amazing.”

As to the future, it’s clearly going to be bright for Inhaler, but as far as they are concerned, as long as they can stay together doing what they love, they’ll be happy.

Eli said: “We’ve already started working on the second album, so that’s the next goal post for us. If people like this first one though, well hopefully that will let us do this for the rest of our lives. We just want to tour and make music, we’re not bothered with any of the rest of it. Though if Croke Park comes up, that’d be good too!”

Interview by Jules Boyle