New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Inhaler today release their highly-anticipated debut album It Won't Always Be Like This through Polydor/Universal Music. The Irish quartet are one of the most exciting bands to emerge over the past few years and It Won't Always Be Like This lives up to their thrilling potential. Singer and guitarist Eli Hewson, bassist Robert Keating, guitarist Josh Jenkinson and drummer Ryan McMahon have made a record that captures their evolution from exciting upstarts to refined songsmiths. It takes in a dazzling array of sonic textures, where huge, hooky choruses perfectly meld with intricate, dynamic instrumentation.
A Covid-enforced delay encouraged the four-piece to find new levels as a band, opening up both their sound and their lyrical themes. Songs about meeting girls turned into reflections on society and how to get through tough periods. "We started writing this when we were teenagers and now we're adults," says Keating. "I wanted the songs to feel positive," adds Hewson. "Because… it won't always be like this."
The album shares its title with one of the group's early singles - a storming, exhilarating singalong of the sort that has become their calling card. But its meaning has changed for the band over the past year, becoming something more hopeful in uncertain times. "There's a sense of optimism on this album and the song It Won't Always Be Like This is the main catalyst for that," says Hewson. "We kept coming back to that title."
Recorded with long-term collaborator and producer Antony Genn at London's Narcissus Studios, it's a coming-of-age record about losing yourself and finding yourself again, trying to make sense of the world when the world doesn't make much sense. It charts a path of sonic exploration, from the sweeping urgency of the title track and My Honest Face to the lush synth-pop of Slide Out The Window to the lithe, space-y grooves of A Night On The Floor. It is a debut of depth and colour.
Inhaler have made all their early promise count. It Won't Always Be Like This is a triumph.
The band play an 19-date tour of the UK & Ireland later this year, preceded by a run of intimate record store shows in August.
AUGUST
14th Boardmasters Festival
15th PRYZM, Kingston (Banquet Records)
16th Deaf Institute, Manchester
18th Blitz, Preston (Action Records)
19th Colours, London
23rd Old Fire Station, Bournemouth (Vinilo Records)
24th The Brook, Southampton (Vinilo Records)
SEPTEMBER
5th
Neighbourhood Festival
10th TRNSMT Festival
17th This Is Tomorrow Festival
28th Octagon, Sheffield
29th O2 Academy, Leeds
OCTOBER
1st University, Newcastle
2nd O2
Institute 1, Birmingham
3rd O2 Academy, Bristol
5th Rock City, Nottingham
6th O2 Kentish Town Forum, London
7th Waterfront, Norwich
9th The Mountford Hall, Liverpool
10th Barrowlands, Glasgow
12th O2 Ritz, Manchester
DECEMBER
14th Limelight, Belfast
15th Dolans, Limerick
16th Cyprus Avenue, Cork
17th INEC Acoustic Club, Kallarney
19th Academy, Dublin
20th Academy, Dublin
21st Academy, Dublin
22nd Academy, Dublin
