Inhaler: Your New Favorite Band

Hailing from the vibrant city of Dublin, Ireland, indie-rock band Inhaler has been quietly making a name for themselves with their energetic performances. Their 2024 North American tour, which kicked off in mid-October, might be their most captivating run of shows to date. I’ve already been lucky enough to have seen the band twice before, once on their Cuts and Bruises album tour and again at the OutsideLands festival in San Francisco. However, neither of these experiences could compare to seeing them at Pier 17 in Manhattan on October 20th. Playing to a sold out crowd of roughly 3,500 fans, Inhaler had us jumping, screaming, crying, and having the most euphoric night of our lives.

Part of what makes an Inhaler show so unique is their rotating setlist, ensuring that no two concerts are the same. Fans never know what to expect, which leaves audience members biting their nails in eager anticipation for each new performance. Even in the past two years, although every show I’ve seen has promoted the same album, each one has been drastically different. 

Another huge element of the band's appeal comes from their frontman, Elijah Hewson, and how he engages the crowd. Although moments of connection can be rare at large concerts, Hewson has a unique way of interacting with his audience emphatically, leaving everyone in the first few rows with the feeling that they’ve been personally recognized. I still remember the sensation of standing front-row at my first Inhaler concert, waiting earnestly for Hewson to lock eyes with me, just as he did with other fans around me. Dubbed by fans on TikTok as the “Dublin in Ecstasy Girl” –a moment during this particular tour where Hewson singles out one specific fan, singing the bridge of their song “Dublin in Ecstasy” to her. Unlike venues played previously on this tour, Pier 17 was larger, meaning that Hewson was unable to sing across the barrier, instead opting to stand on a speaker. This is what I remember more than anything else about their concerts—witnessing the connection with fans that has set Inhaler apart as a band. Whereas other performers come across as polished but distant, Inhaler always feels real and intimate.

As a fan who has followed Inhaler's musical journey for roughly five years, I noticed how their performance at Pier 17 truly demonstrated how the band has grown and matured in ways that are impossible to ignore. When I first saw them in 2023, the musicians seemed to play more individually, briefly engaging with each other during solos but otherwise remaining insular to their own parts. However at their show in October, I encountered a new sense of cohesion. The band's bassist, Robert Keating, frequently exchanged laughs and inside jokes with guitarist Josh Jenkinson and drummer Ryan McMahon, providing the crowd a glimpse of their world on stage. As an audience member, a new chemistry was palpable—not just between bandmates, but also between them and their fans. As if that wasn't enough, Inhaler also released their first single, “Your House,” on October 29th, 2024, off of their third album “Open Wide,” set to be released on February 7th, 2024. 

Despite their undeniable talent, Inhaler is still horrifically underrated. The band opened for the Arctic Monkeys and Harry Styles in 2023, two artists with massive followings. Yet, as of October 2024, Inhaler has under 800,000 Spotify listeners—barely 1.5% of Arctic Monkeys’ Spotify fanbase. In March of 2023, the band peaked at 1.7 million, but none of that traffic has stayed. 

Inhaler isn't just a band you listen to—they're a band you experience. Whether you're an indie-rock fan or a lover of emotive ballads, this is the band you've been waiting for. Inhaler’s second album, “Cuts and Bruises,” released in February of 2023, has songs in the same genre as Arctic Monkeys, and the Killers’ album “Sam’s Town,” with broader influences cited by the band as stemming from The Stone Roses, Joy Division, and Oasis. With punchy, bass-heavy songs like “Dublin in Ecstasy,” to slower, more heartfelt tunes like “Valentine,” as well as an entirely new album on the way, there truly is a section of Inhaler’s discography just for you.