Inhaler – Open Wide Review

Sincere hope for Inhaler is hard to shake. Cuts and Bruises still stands as a tremendous piece of alternate rock which features the joys of colloquial music and, crucially, a heartfelt lyrical push. We are spoilt for choice between the likes of Holly Humberstone, Sam Fender and The Murder Capital. They are continuing on with music as a message, slick tones and exciting riffs all part of the punchy fun they provide. Consistency is crucial here and to evolve the sound is to take listeners on an exciting next step which paves a path, inevitably, to dancing around in your bathroom at half three at night, listening to Geordie Greep or The Waeve. Such thrills on this path are diverted, back over and towards a pop-oriented light. Open Wide sees Cuts and Bruises not as a bold effort but a stray away from what Inhaler should be. Kid Harpoon is here to right the course.  

But in righting this course the band sheds what was, in effect, a charming and often effortlessly cool image. What comes through on Open Wide is a broader sound, an almost entirely stripped image and in its place a relatively tame pop record. Those singles have left a bad taste in the mouth and a ringing in the ears. At least there is a heaviness to Open Wide’s opening track, Eddie in the Darkness. A sleight of hand in those first releases brings on a static message of encounters at parties and hopes for a bright future. But tucked away on Open Wide are some exceptional riffs and a sound which will feel a tad familiar to those who were swept up in the wonderful storm of Cuts and Bruises. It is not that Inhaler must stick to an already concrete sound but to hear the massive switch in tone on those singles, to shed one image not for another but for the hopes of being a broad and relatable act, was disappointing.  

Open Wide works hard to win those dedicated fans back. Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah) has an overbearing Harpoon production, as much of the album does. Inhaler still cuts through with some amiable and often refreshing lyrical choices. Your House has grown wonderfully since its release and sits well on the album. Open Wide is let down by its singles and covers most of its best ground on the album tracks. Pieces like Even Though are a flicker of their very best with some pushes for synth tones and soft electronic beats underscoring them, rather than overtaking their charming instrumental style. Tremendous work can be heard on Again, as complete a sound as Inhaler gets here. A real marvel which begins to build some new tones and tempo for the band, and what a welcome sound it is.  

Even with those flickers of interest, the album remains tame. The Charms stands out not because it falls into the arms of a lover but because of its predictable storytelling, its inability to split off from the rest of the album, to play out a new angle or consider an instrumental alternative. Harpoon’s production certainly sounds as though it has constrained what Inhaler can do, and while Open Wide is frequently fun, it never amounts to the world-beating and exciting thrills of Cuts and Bruises. A middle-of-the-road release with a few songs worth kicking into your playlist. Open Wide suffers tremendously from trying to conform to a popular sound, a pop tone which already feels a tad dated, especially when compared to their previous efforts, still holding up well thanks to their storytelling charms, their definitive lyrical charm, which is lacking on this third Inhaler album.