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Inhaler

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Dublin four-piece trading in big-reverb guitar hooks and baritone vocals, closer to eighties post-punk radio than the Britpop revival they get filed with.

Inhaler are a four-piece from Dublin, made up of Elijah Hewson on vocals and guitar, Josh Jenkinson on guitar and keyboards, Robert Keating on bass and Ryan McMahon on drums. The group came together in 2012 at St Andrews College in Blackrock, settling on the name Inhaler in 2015, around the time Jenkinson joined. They released a run of singles, starting with "I Want You" in 2017, before signing to Polydor Records in 2019.

Early support came from touring as openers for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and from placing fifth in BBC's Sound of 2020 poll. The band won a Music Moves Europe Talent Award in 2021 and was shortlisted for MTV Push, building momentum ahead of their debut album.

Their sound draws on chiming, effects-heavy guitar and Hewson's low, melodic delivery, with reference points closer to eighties alternative rock than to the guitar bands they are often grouped with.

The debut album It Won't Always Be Like This appeared in 2021, reaching number one in Ireland and the UK and charting across Europe. Cuts & Bruises followed in 2023, reaching number two in the UK and number one at home, and a third album, Open Wide, was released in 2025.

Inhaler have opened for Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender and Pearl Jam, and played Slane Castle supporting Harry Styles. Their touring built up to a run of dates across the US and Europe that closed with a show at Dublin's 3Arena in November 2023.

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