REV I EW INHALER at Cyprus Avenue CARLY FITZGERALD WAS ON THE SCENE TO CAPTURE THE HOT BAND’S CORK CONCERT. Inhaler is a four-piece rock band from Dublin that consists of Elijah Hewson (guitar and vocals), Robert Keating (bass), Josh Jenkinson (lead guitar), and Ryan McMahon (drums). They met in school and bonded over their love of music and bands such as The Stones Roses and The Strokes. They have supported the likes of Blossoms and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and have played festival slots at Electric Picnic and Indiependence, as well as a few across the water such as Citadel in London and Pukkelpop in Belgium. On September 25th Inhaler returned to Cyprus Avenue once again with support from Apre, after the Music Cork showcase, as part of their first European headline tour. They delivered a gig that makes them a band to watch out for, infusing catchy lyrics with tantalising melodies to create an atmosphere that captivated the crowd. The venue was packed and Elijah commented while onstage on how it had grown so much from just about twenty five people when they played at Music Cork. They started off with “It Won’t Always Be Like This,” which they released back in March, and it was a perfect opener as people were familiar with it. Their new single, “Ice Cream Sundae,” is a feel-good synthy pop tune that you can’t help but dance to, so it had no trouble getting the crowd moving and singing the lyrics back. They followed this up with a slower number that added dynamic to the set. “Cheer Up Baby” had the crowd enthusiastically buzzing with great riffs and infectious lyrics. The band had commanded the stage at this point in the performance with Elijah even hopping up on the drum kit near the end of the song. He exuded confidence onstage and had no difficulty in fulfilling the frontman role, even though he apologised for some of his antics. “My King Will Be Kind” was a personal favourite from their set. The rawness and honesty in the lyrics was complemented by the way the music became slightly muted at times, enabling an emphasis to be put on certain lyrics. It is one of their less poppy songs and the way it contrasted
34 | OCTOBER 2019
with others on the setlist made it a powerful performance. They closed with “My Honest Face,” which has over two million Spotify streams and was another well-known crowd pleaser. It was a high energy song and one that kept the crowd going until the end, so it was a good choice for bringing their set to a close. Inhaler are a young band who are playing intimate venues at the moment, so catch them in one while you still can because if their Cyprus Avenue gig is anything to go by, they are going to be big. They have two Irish shows coming up in The Button Factory in Dublin on December 18th and 19th . Inhaler may be a Dublin band, but they sure have made their mark on Cork after this show.
Photography: Carly Fitzgerald
