Open Wide is Inhaler’s highly anticipated third studio album, which has been teased through their three singles that have been released over the past four months. They are an indie rock band from Dublin who are soon to become a staple in their genre with the successes they have achieved over the past few years. There are so many elements of Inhaler’s music that reminds me of other indie rock legends with similar vocals to Sam Fender, Declan McKenna and Blossoms.
The album opens with a bang with the first two tracks, titled ‘Eddie in the Darkness’ and ‘Billy (yeah yeah yeah)’. These are the record’s more lyrically adventurous tracks through the stories told throughout these songs, starting the album off with a personal touch. Next up is ‘Your House’ which is the third track on Open Wide and the first single they released back in late October. It is one of the best representations of Inhaler’s sound with such a striking chorus that involves a large choir and a near-spiritual sounding melody.
Even at this point in the record, you can notice how different each track feels as Inhaler experiments with many different techniques and sounds. This is the main distinction between their previous albums which stick closer to the expectations of indie rock music. The next track, ‘Even Though’ moves more into a Sam Fender-sounding song and reminds of his track ‘People Watching’. Like ‘Your Song’, ‘Even Though’ uses a fuller range of sound and complements the late track ‘All I Got is You’ which uses a similar style and jingly guitar riffs that are so iconic within this genre.
‘A Question of You’ reminds me of a Two Door Cinema Club song and I love it. It was the third single for Open Wide and the one that made me the most excited for this release. One of my favourite parts of this track is the punchy drum line paired with the tambourine that allows for perfect transitions between sections of the song. It is the first danceable track on the record and just reminds you of summertime and the festival season.
The second half of the album, starting with the title track ‘Open Wide’, is much more danceable and has similarities to Harry Styles’ instrumentation and melodies - explaining why they were picked to open for him a couple years back. These tracks definitely have a more pop-rock feel, but it is a shame that this album was released in the winter as songs like ‘Still Young’ and ‘The Charms’ are the perfect coming-of-age tracks that are essential for teenager’s summer playlists.
The last track on Open Wide is ‘Little Things’ and it was an explosive way to close the record as it returns to their upbeat, guitar-music style before ending on one singular guitar note that was left to ring out.
Overall, I was disappointed by the lack of the dynamic choruses and bridges that can be seen throughout their other two records, best demonstrated by one of their most popular songs: ‘When It Breaks’ and ‘My Honest Face’. Although ‘Your House’ and ‘X-Ray’ incorporate some of these structures with creeping pre-choruses, I am missing the feeling these tracks provided when I first listened to Inhaler. The singles from this album were perfectly selected as they represent the breadth of the album. However, I found that many of the other tracks blended together with few standing out outside of those that were pre-released outside of ‘All I Got is You’.
Inhaler are setting off on their world tour, starting in Leeds on their album release day until early July. They have a significant number of UK and Irish throughout February and will be making a return to fields near us for the festival season. Check out a few of the dates below:
- Friday 7 February - O2 Academy, Leeds
- Saturday 8 February - O2 Apollo, Manchester
- Monday 10 February - O2 Academy, Birmingham
- Tuesday 11 February - Rock City, Nottingham
- Thursday 13 February - O2 Academy Brixton, London
- Friday 14 February - O2 Academy Brixton, London
- Saturday 15 February - Brighton Centre, Brighton
- Monday 17 February - O2 Academy, Glasgow
- Tuesday 18 February - O2 Academy, Glasgow
- Wednesday 19 February - O2 City Hall, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Friday 21 February - O2 Apollo, Manchester
- Thursday 17 April - O2 Academy, Bristol
- 24 and 25 May - Neighbourhood Weekender, Victoria Park, Warrington
- Thursday 10 July - Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Scarborough
- 12 and 13 July - TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow Green, Glasgow
Other festival appearances are yet to be announced
