Album Review, Indie, indie rock, New Music

INHALER ‘Cuts & Bruises’ Album

February 21, 2023 Indie Buddie 18 Comments

INHALER have released their eagerly awaited second album ‘Cuts & Bruises’ on Polydor Records. Produced by Inhaler’s long-term collaborator Antony Genn, ‘Cuts & Bruises’ features 11 tracks including recent single ‘If You’re Gonna Break My Heart’ as well as the uplifting ‘Love Will Get You There’ and last summer’s euphoric anthem ‘These Are The Days’. Following a prolonged period of touring, INHALER’s sophomore album began to take shape over Christmas 2021 in The Nunnery, their rehearsal space in hometown Dublin, with the four band members – vocalist and guitarist Elijah Hewson, bassist Robert Keating, guitarist Josh Jenkinson and drummer Ryan McMahon – writing and rehearsing a clutch of new songs.’Cuts & Bruises’ is the follow-up to Inhaler’s debut album ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ which debuted at no.1 in both the UK & Irish Official Charts. Released in July 2021, ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ became the fastest-selling debut album on vinyl by any band this century and saw Inhaler become the first Irish group to top the Album Charts with a debut in 13 years.

Tastefully blended with various genres and musical elements ‘Cuts & Bruises’ is a treasure trove of engaging indie tracks. This album is the product of a band acutely aware of their place in the music scene. It is clear that with ‘Cuts & Bruises’, INHALER are confident to display their musical growth while staying true to themselves and they achieve this perfectly.

Filled with sharp guitar licks, driving rhythms and baselines each track rushes with the irresistible sound INHALER have become known for. From the get-go the band grab the listener’s attention with a catchy guitar hook, and hazy melody from ‘Just To Keep You Satisfied’. The track is an impressive start and beckons repeat plays before moving through the rest of the album. As the album progresses INHALER flesh out their sound and showcase other facets of their musicianship. ‘Love Will Get You There’ chugs with a western-esque undertone while ‘These Are The Days’ boasts raw indie rock swagger.

Amongst the fresh stadium bangers, the band sprinkle a healthy serving of brooding ballads throughout the album. A fine example of this is ‘If You’re Gonna Break My Heart’. The track contains wonderfully expressive jazzy keys that chime behind Hewson’s velvety vocals as he croons, “if your gonna break my heart smash it to pieces, ’cause I’m not gonna need it, as much as I do right now”. Another noteworthy ballad is the melancholic ‘Valentine’. This beautiful song surges with heartfelt yearning while a bubbling beat and chiming guitars complement an acoustic refrain and Hewson’s tender coo’s.

The slower more gentle tunes on the album are welcome interludes between the band’s more anthemic work, simply because we get to truly appreciate another aspect of this young band’s music; the lyrics and the emotive musical accompaniment each four members use to enhance the poetic elements to their sound. It’s an exciting experience to hear this part of the band’s music come to the fore through tracks such as ‘Valentine’ that display the meticulous amount of effort the four-piece put into this facet of their musicianship.

‘Cuts & Bruises’ presents a band who’ve grown exponentially in the last two years, both musically and lyrically, but still boasts plenty of pit-opening choruses, refined musicianship and oodles of youthful adrenaline.

About the album the band said: “It was just the four of us jamming in the live room and trying to come up with ideas on the spot,” says Keating. “Playing live for a few months beforehand really helped shape what kind of direction we wanted to take it in.”

“The subject matters of the songs are still all about coming-of-age stuff – the standard stuff you write when you’re a teenager,” adds Hewson, the band’s principal lyricist. “But it also became a little bit more about being in a band. These songs are less about the world around us, and more about what’s going on inside Inhaler.”

Stream ‘Cuts & Bruises’ below