We had to make hard decisions
Dublin rockers Inhaler, fronted by the son of U2’s Bono, tell ALEX GREEN how they looked inward to complete their difficult second album
INHALER have enjoyed numerous “pinch me moments” since July 2021, when their debut album shot to number one on both sides of the Irish Sea.
They have hung out with Metallica’s Lars Ulrich at a concert in Belgium, had Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers attend a gig in LA and even chatted with Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes – an “idol” of the band.
“We have been blessed,” says drummer Ryan McMahon. “We have met all our inspirations, especially Jedward.”
Yes, the band can add the bequiffed identical twins, former X Factor contestants and fellow Irishmen to their list of fans.
“It doesn’t get much better than Jedward,” adds frontman Elijah Hewson, son of U2’s Bono, with a chuckle that is echoed among his bandmates.
The group are speaking from their rehearsal studio and are sitting against a wall covered in graffiti and posters, including one of The Beatles’ album cover for Let It Be. They are on the cusp of releasing their sophomore album, Cuts and Bruises, and are excited.
The four-piece – Elijah and Ryan plus bassist Robert Keating and guitarist Josh Jenkinson – have spent nearly two years touring hard, including in the US.
“We nearly hit breaking point last year because we were trying to balance the two acts of going into the studio and touring at the same time,” says Ryan. “That mentally was a very draining thing for all of us, so it could be easy to get on people’s nerves sometimes.
“But this year we’re still going to be doing a lot of touring but we don’t have that external pressure of having to make a second album again. It was Josh who said he never wants to make a second album ever again. I couldn’t agree more.”
“Writing and making music is hard,” adds Elijah. “And playing it on stage after a while becomes physically exhausting. But it’s fun, it’s a high. “Once this promo run is done and the album’s out we are just going to have a laugh on tour and not rush or stress and just enjoy being in a band, which we are all really excited about.”
It has been 19 months since It Won’t Always Be Like This came out and made them the first Irish act in 13 years to reach the top spot in the UK with their debut.
Elijah is sanguine about the pressure to deliver another success.
“Being put under that pressure made us better songwriters because we had to make hard decisions really fast,” he reflects. “And I think we’ve made a better record because of it.
“But we’re feeling really happy that it’s coming out into the world now. It feels like it’s been a long time – even though it hasn’t been.
“When you’re sitting on those songs for a while the nerves can build up and that makes time go a lot slower.”
Ryan suggests there is less pressure on them.
“We definitely felt more pressure releasing the first time than we do this time around because the first album is a very daunting thing,” he offers.
“They say that the second album is the dreaded one but it was probably the dreaded one while making it but we’re a lot more excited to release this one.
“We are also just really itching to play shows with a new setlist, because we’ve played all the old ones in the same order for two years now,” he adds with a laugh.
The songs on this album are tighter with bigger choruses, seemingly designed to fill bigger auditoriums and sweeping festival stages.
To achieve this, the band made a concerted effort to strip things back and use fewer overdubs in the studio.
Elijah says the songs are “naturally anthemic”.
“Let’s just record the song, have it be what it is, and really try to serve it,” he says, recalling their thought process in the studio.
The Beatles were also an inspiration and during recording the group binged Peter Jackson’s eighthour Get Back documentary.
Shot in January 1969 shortly before the band fell apart, the film lays bare their clashes and moments of creative genius.
“It was a horrible atmosphere in that room for the majority of it,” says Elijah, “but we felt inspired by that old school way of writing.”
Inhaler have been friends since childhood but after two years on the road, are they closer than ever?
Elijah sums it up, saying: “I was writing all these love songs and I thought they were about girls – but they are actually about the lads in the band.”
He is being serious: he and his bandmates want to be more open about their feelings and more supportive of each other.
“Over lockdown a lot of our friends had really hard times, but one friend in particular lost himself a bit,” adds Ryan.
“We started talking about how men especially don’t talk about their feelings to each other. And that became quite a theme throughout all the lyrics.”
Inhaler are not the first young male musicians to express their vulnerability, with Sam Fender having written about male suicide. “There’s less bravado, I suppose,” says Elijah. “Less macho energy. And I quite enjoy that.
“If you’re going to sing about something personal to you, you’re going to have to let your macho guard down a little bit.”
We have met all our inspirations, especially Jedward. Ryan McMahon