It felt like the kind of night where guitars mattered. At Store Vega on Monday, Inhaler tore through a freight-train set that nodded to Pulp, Billy Idol, The Killers—even early U2. But as the gig wore on, something else emerged: a version of Inhaler that sounded like, well, Inhaler.
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While their genre roots are always visible, the band started showing flashes of their own shape as the set progressed. Formed in 2012, Inhaler released their debut It Won’t Always Be Like This in 2021—an album that flew straight to number one on the Irish and UK charts.
Impressive? Sure. But it also makes you wonder: is the British indie scene a bit too hungry for safe bets?
Inhaler’s sound is built for late nights and quick highs—guitar-driven indie pop-rock made up of punchy, 3:30 anthems. They rarely color outside those lines. The result? High energy, low risk. Fun, but predictable.
Yet live, the songs stretch their limbs. The guitars hit harder, the gloss fades, and there’s a rawer edge that plays well on stage. Elijah Hewson’s vocals carry strength, with flashes of his lineage, but he holds his own.
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Get Started NowInfluenced, yes. Inventive? Not overly. Still, they’ve earned their place in the indie ecosystem. Store Vega wasn’t sold out—but the next show might be.
