Inhaler

Inhaler first came to my attention ‘cos I loved the name (turns out it stems from the lead singer, Elijah’s asthma!), and subsequently because I found out the asthmatic front man was Bono’s son. As a result I’ve kept tabs on them ever since, albeit at a distance.

Things have been ticking along but the attention surrounding the young Dubliners has truly exploded since being recently named on the BBC’s Bands of 2020 longlist. Appearances on the tv (BBC of course!) and sold out gigs have followed and so the chance of catching them at the glorious Lexington was a great opportunity to size them up at close quarters.

‘King of the Beats’ by Mantronix blasts out from the speakers to welcome the band as they enter as a five-piece. But there’s no time for pleasantries and they rock straight into beats of their own kicking off with new single ‘When I’m With You’. Dominated by a driving riff, it’s an uplifting start.

Next comes the new wave inspired ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, another recent single release. The tempo then slows before crowd favourite ‘Ice cream Sundae’ which has a big infectious chorus.

‘The next one is dedicated to the only two people in here dancing!’ Elijah points out as he encourages the crowd to get the party going with the aspirational vibe and raw guitars of ‘We Have To Move On’. Half way through the track we witness a very Bono like connection to the crowd moment and it’s hard not to comment on the striking resemblance, both in the overall sound and the vocals, to early U2.

Overall, the crowd (me included) certainly preferred the faster, more upbeat tunes and the soaring guitars of ‘My Honest Face’ ends the night on a high and with plenty of dancing in the crowd!