Inhaler's Album 'Open Wide' is a Synthy Soundtrack for an Alt-Rock Reinvention
- Abby Anderson
- Feb 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 4
Stand-out tracks: “Eddie in the Darkness” “Still Young” “Little Things”
Our favorites: “A Question of You” “Open Wide” “X-Ray”
Release date: February 7, 2025
Label: Geffen Records
For fans of: Del Water Gap, Wallows, Harry Styles
Indie-alt pop-rock band Inhaler is breaking through walls and trying on a fresh new sound on their third studio album, Open Wide, released February 7 on Geffen Records. Comprised of lead vocalist Elijah Hewson, bassist Robert Keating, lead guitarist Josh Jenkinson, and drummer Ryan McMahon, Inhaler has spent the last few years on the road, supporting the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Pearl Jam, Harry Styles, and Kings of Leon, and the experience has clearly led to a reinvention for the Dublin quartet. With shows already sold out across the UK, from London’s Brixton Academy to their 20,000-capacity home show in Dublin, Inhaler is poised for the biggest year of their career. And Open Wide is exactly the soundtrack they needed for it.
The band released a series of tracks over several months before the album's release, teasing a shift in the band's sonic identity. Included in the list of prereleases were “Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah),” “A Question of You,” “Open Wide,” and “Your House.” Each track progressively brings the band closer to where they want to land, with delicious bass, alt-pop choruses, and synth-enhanced production by Grammy-winning Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence & The Machine, Miley Cyrus). “Your House” impresses the sonic of the absolute best house party garage band you’ve ever heard. Much like the relationship lead singer Hewson is illustrating in its lyrics, “A Question of You” conjures up the visual of cracking the windows on a drive during an early spring sunset that feels a little too good to be true; an experience that is a glimmer of hope and a respite from the grays of the past: “Took me a while to find/The answer to the question/I am the answer to the question of you.”
Open Wide opens the same way it was chronologically written. “Eddie in the Darkness” is a nod to the Inhaler of the past, channeling the sound of their first two projects, It Won’t Always Be This Way and Cuts & Bruises. It’s familiar, but there’s a sense of freedom and openness that naturally preludes the sonic and lyrical themes of the rest of the project. Effortlessly groovy and sensationally guitar-driven, “Eddie in the Darkness” weaves the narrative of embracing imperfections to move forward - exactly as Inhaler has done with this chapter of their career. While the front half of the album is an embrace of the vibrance of this chapter of Inhaler, the back half of the album flows through flavors of the band’s inspirations and peers. “The Charms” trends towards The Strokes, “Still Young” nods towards U2 (this one is in their blood - Hewson’s father is Bono), and “Little Things” gives a rock spin on Depeche Mode.
Inhaler has always been known to be masterful with a pen. Tracks like "Again" prove that the composition of Open Wide is no exception - a nostalgic ode to making mistakes and baring your heart, the humming guitar instrumental backs cutting lines like, “It's life, it's heavy/Tears at your sleeve sometimes/It's gold, it's glory/After the battle lines.” But now with the help of one of the most esteemed producers in the business in Kid Harpoon, the tracklist of Open Wide flows in waves, blurring together to create a landscape of laser-cut instrumentals that tickle the eardrums of listeners craving for a modernized reinvention of 2000s indie-alternative. It slows down just enough to compound the impact of the sheer expanse of the pinnacle of the project: synth-rock electronic title track “Open Wide.” Perhaps the best single track in the band's discography, "Open Wide" truly symbolizes the roots of Inhaler, while also embracing where they're looking to the future: " I'll hold down these ties/As much as I want freeing from you/You got your arms out open wide/You say, 'Come on, baby, take a look.'"
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