Inhaler disappeared too soon after the exceptional Cuts & Bruises release. Elijah Hewson and the band have been keeping busy Stateside, carving out their next steps as an artistic unit. They were a miss this summer. At a time when festivals in the UK and Ireland are failing to compete with those in Europe (simply compare the Oya Festival and Primavera lineups to Leeds and Reading), it is no wonder the best exports are fleeing to other parts of the world. Inhaler is back, though, with a logo like an early concept Superdry branding reject and a song, Your House. Gone is the light fluff of their loved-up guitar-led songs and in is the punchy, bass-driven styles Inhaler are still moulding. It still has the soppy encounters of Cuts & Bruises but with a pop-oriented tone. Your House is a gamble.
Enlisting Kid Harpoon of Harry’s House acclaim says it all. Your House for Inhaler, the lead single of upcoming album Open Wide, is stuffed full of gospel choirs, flourishing keyboard work and marks an elongation of relatively tame messages. It is a love song at its core. Adding in neat and unique flourishes is half the battle for Inhaler. Your House only gets them so far, hinting at deeper intent which is never surfaced through its stark and dark opening notes. But this fades away into a relatively typical rock-lite song. Synth-heavy this may be it soon becomes the backdrop to trivial pop-chasing instrumentals. Your House benefits from the impressive layering that comes from featuring gospel choirs in a mix of synths and standard instruments but does not feature the warmth which should be commonplace in these tones.
Your House feels rather plain. Hewson cannot pull these expressions of doubt anywhere other than their inevitable, hopeful conclusion. The journey there is far more important than the destination. It marks a catchy thrill from the band but is not a lick on their earlier works, not yet anyway. Hewson still sounds tremendous and the unity of Inhaler cannot be questioned – they sound as solid as they always do, but guided by this new momentum leads them to choppier waters. There is no standout moment. Nothing we can point to in Your House which identifies the strength of this sonic change. In adapting old sounds with their sights on new energies and a move away from the Cuts & Bruises aesthetic, Inhaler feels like a band unafraid of experimentation. More power to them, though it may leave some dedicated fans a bit high and dry.
Let it sink in for a while. A few listens through and the charms of Hewson build back. Sharp knives and the terrors of the everyday are explored with broad flourishes which should hopefully lend themselves to subtle indicators or refined thoughts on Open Wide. It was the same for Cuts & Bruises, where the best tracks were those intimate reflections, those grounded moments of location and a perspective which challenged the norm of the genre. In hiring Kid Harpoon, Inhaler shows they intend to be the next big pop outfit. A step away from the indie tones which guided their first two albums may backfire, yet it is the only move available to them, for it makes Your House that much more joyous. Inhaler is keen to evolve, and their push into heavier instrumentals yet lighter vocals may be the way to do it. It certainly beats repetition.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
