Review | Inhaler – Open Wide

Label: Polydor Records

By Meghan Glover

Pass me my Inhaler – the Irish boys are back with their new album ‘Open Wide’. Marking their third album release since 2021, the 13 track addition to the trilogy sees a transition away from the band’s previous high-energy indie pop hits and into a new era. 

Off to a great start, the four-piece show us something a little bit different with the opening rock-infused track ‘Eddie In The Darkness’ which is raw, blunt and aggressive. Moving into the catchy, emotive chorus of ‘Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)’ the immediate sentiment is that we’ll be getting a real variety of tracks from the Dublin boys this time around. 

Recorded with producer Kid Harpoon, who has worked with the likes of Harry Styles, the album features Inhaler’s three pre-released songs from the last couple of months, including: ‘Your House’, ‘A Question Of You’, and more recently, the album’s title track ‘Open Wide’.

Covering all bases, the album has a little bit of everything. Edgy crowd pleasers like ‘Your House’, combined with considerably heavier tracks like ‘Little Things’ and slower sing-alongs like ‘Again’ see Inhaler coming into their own. While unique tracks like ‘X-Ray’ carve a path of their own in the band’s ever-expanding discography.

Insights into the band’s individual musical influences definitely translate in ‘Open Wide’ – much more so than we have seen before. With a few modern twists on classic rock and elements of 80s synth pop, the guitar riffs in ‘All I Got Is You’ are reminiscent of bands like The Smiths, while ‘Still Young’ feels like a refreshing, instrumentally-driven throwback and a nod to the band’s personal tastes. 

Just when you think the album can’t diversify further, the keys in the latter half, in tracks like ‘Concrete’ and ‘The Charms’ are paired with impeccable high notes from lead and guitarist Eli, and have us catching our breaths at the switch of pace. 

Long-time fans have come to love them as the indie kings that they are, but this album marks a new chapter, and as we turn the page in 2025, ‘Open Wide’ shows a natural progression for Inhaler. 

So, as they move further away from their OG indie pop album ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, it’s exciting to see the band curate something that is completely their own.