OUT TODAY!!!!
Inhaler’s first challenge was in stepping out from the limelight of frontman Elijah Hewson’s father, Bono. They succeeded, in spades. After a thrilling debut, their next obstacle was in creating an album that could top its rocking predecessor…
Cuts & Bruises is their response. It’s an album about making the worst possible mistake; falling in love. The titular injuries are earned from teenaged mishaps, stumbling home drunk, and that harsher kind; the sort only given to you by someone you love.
The album begins with ‘Just To Keep You Satisfied’, a song that gives the sense of staying up so late that the next day has already begun. The first shadows of the ‘she’ this album seems to be about start to appear, but Hewson isn’t begging for her just yet. It’s built for the stadium experience, but still sung with the groggy morning voice Hewson is king of. With heavy drums and a slick synth drench, Inhaler start an all-nighter that won’t end without someone beside them.
There are sultry additions, too: ‘So Far, So Good’ feels like the lovechild of older Inhaler songs like ‘A Night On The Floor’ and ‘Is She My Girl?’ Leaning on the thrumming rhythm of drummer Ryan McMahon, the song focusses on the space between two people before anything has been said aloud; it all falls on the tension strung out by that grand ‘what-if?’
We take a shot of the electric on ‘Dublin In Ecstasy’. Written when the boys were teens – and a fan favourite ever since – its inclusion on the album links their past firmly with future. The sonic equivalent of driving a car with its hood down hours after getting one’s license, Hewson croons desperately as he watches the night thin into adulthood.
The lyrics of ‘Valentine’ document a late-night decision, and a bad one at that; to fall in love with a girl who’s nothing but bad news. Hewson’s ‘la la la’s sound like the drawls of a drunk wandering down the street at night; Inhaler experiment with their production here to manifest a rougher sound and a bigger bite.
‘Now You Got Me’ is a closer for the ages. It portrays the final showdown in which Hewson has lost the battle but won the war; he’s got the girl, but he’s lost himself. His voice howls as he sings about how he’s traded his heart on false dice, and with lyrics like, ‘love won’t tear us apart’, it’s clear he’s tied himself to her with his heartstrings. It’s a tight finish, and one that brings a sonically cohesive album to the sharpest of conclusions.
Cuts & Bruises is a slick and high-spirited sophomore album, equally at home on the record player of a heartbroken teenager as it is played out on the stadium tour. Their new lyrical honesty – found through Hewson’s total unbuttoning of himself for his crowd – suggests that it is the band’s newfound nakedness that makes Inhaler one of Ireland’s finest exports of the last decade.
Review by Kate Jeffrie
Kate Jeffrie @katejeffrie
Role: Lead Writer / Interviewer
I review gigs, and interview bands and musicians.
Available For: Gig Reviews, band interviews
Qualification: I study English Literature at the University of Bristol.
First attended gig: The first gig I remember going to see was Lewis Watson when I was 13, at a pub a few towns over from where I lived. My friends and I all loved him, and I remember how shocked I was that someone I had on this pedestal could be stood on a stage just a few feet away, drinking a beer and playing guitar!
First gig reviewed: The first gig I ever reviewed was Palace at the O2 Academy Bristol. As a band I wasn’t particularly well acquainted with, it was a testament to how live music can bowl someone over, even when it’s coming from strangers.
Dream gig: My dad saw The Smiths on their first tour, and since they’re my favourite band, I think seeing them in an intimate venue would be a dream
