Inhaler

Open Wide showcases INHALER thrillingly coming into their own and taking their sound in audacious new directions. It’s an album where the band’s love of T.Rex, early MGMT, Prince, Depeche Mode and more nestles alongside the indie and garage-rock influences of their teens, and is a majestic celebration of who Inhaler are and everything they’ve done to get to this point. Working with Brit and Grammy-winning producer Kid Harpoon, the band learned to fully trust their own artistic vision. It’s a record that feels confident and sure of itself, one that never feels like it’s trying to be bombastic for the sake of it. Instead, there’s a restraint here, like in the way yearning opener Eddie In The Darkness begins like you’ve walked in on the band playing in a room already instead of hitting you over the head from the off, or the way the propulsive 80s pop grooves of Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah) constantly feels tightly-wound and loose at the same time, as if its gently gliding by. It’s the sound of a band in full control. There’s playful glam-pop (Your House), stomping indie epics (A Question Of You), wiry, post-punk-influenced contemplatives (Even Though), adventurous art-rock (X-Ray), swaying ballads (Again, Still Young) and rattling, melodic garage-y missives (Little Things), all revolving around the immense, panoramic rock of the title track (Open Wide), planted right in the middle of the album.