Cuts and Bruises by Inhaler-review

        The idea of a sophomore slump is prevalent within music. Many artists find recording and releasing the second album more challenging than the first, the pressure mounting to create a record that proves themselves as more than one hit wonder. It can seem like a curse and whilst some artists beat this and produce work that rivals that of the first (Oasis/Arctic Monkeys/Nirvana), it doesn’t mean it is a myth with bands like ‘Lumineers’ and ‘The Stone Roses’ having weaker work in comparison to their first.

Irish band Inhaler faces this with “Cuts And Bruises”, however, what they have created is mature in sound whilst also keeping the best elements of their debut “It Won’t Always Be Like This”. Whilst this feat is impressive, they admitted on the Zane Lowe show on Apple Music that they don’t want to produce a second album “ever again”. Curse aside, the record starts off strongly with the upbeat “Just To Keep You Satisfied” a catchy song that features superb bass playing from Robert Keating, underpinning the song. The song has an indie-pop vibe, with Josh Jenkinson’s guitar fills during the verse that adds dimensions within the song-something that is seen consistently throughout. The song sets the tempo for the rest of the LP as, whilst it retains semblances of their debut, their sound has changed and this is for the better as they explore a more sophisticated sound with subtlety in the guitar specifically that helps to create atmosphere within their songs. Even on singles like ‘Love Will Get You There’ and ‘If You’re Gonna Break My Heart’ do they combine catchy, pop-esque choruses and guitar hooks with lyrics that show the intricacies of relationships and the world around them. 

Lead singer and songwriter Elijah Hewson has described that a lot of the thought behind the album was about realising that a band was like a marriage. This analogy was briefly touched upon on their previously with their track ‘Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)’, with the members stating that the song was them realising through the pandemic how much the band means to them but for ‘Cuts and Bruises’, the context comes after an extensive amount of touring and travelling all over the world together. Other lead singles-’Love Will Get You There’ and ‘If You’re Gonna Break My Heart’-have their subject matter more focussed on the topic of love-the idea of marriage/a relationship prevalent throughout. 

‘These Are The Days’ stays truest to the band’s original sound, however. the other two singles are more mature and multi-faceted, with ‘If You’re Gonna Break My Heart’ utilising piano effectively alongside the guitars to produce a ballad designed with a chorus hook to be sung as loudly as possible by the crowd back to the band-seen in their recent live shows late last year.

‘So Far So Good’ is arguably the most energetic song-sounding distinctively Indie-Pop/Rock with Jenkinson’s guitar work being of particular note as it compliments the steady drums in the background helping to keep the energy of the record alongside yet another ear-worm of a chorus.

The album flourishes, however, on the latter half with tracks 6 to 9-arguably some of the band’s best work yet. ‘Perfect Storm’, features a build-up of sound with subtle guitar from both Hewson and Jenkinson as Hewson sings almost peacefully at the start. The bass and drums build and build, however, keeping a steady increase in momentum for each chorus. The song then fades out and transitions to the longest track yet: ‘Dublin In Ecstasy’. Longtime fans of the band will remember this song as a previously unreleased track from 2019, however, the rework of the song’s lyrics and bridge has elevated the song to such an extent that it can be argued to be the greatest song on the record. Yet again does the guitar riff require a mention however it is the work of Ryan McMahon’s drums that make this a song of note.

 ‘The Things I Do’ is yet another showcasing of the band’s talent at creating atmosphere. All instruments are able to blend into the background with each having a moment to shine throughout the song, representing how far the band have evolved. The final song, ‘Now You Got Me’, features a heavier sound with guitar effects reminiscent of heavy rock, ending their sophomore album distinctively and strongly with one of their best songs with a powerful guitar solo and a memorable chorus.

It is an accomplishment of how far the band have come and a testament to their ability to push their sound without compromising their talent. Their debut showed the band as promising however ‘Cuts and Bruises’ proves they are a mature, distinctive band with vast talent; tracks like ‘Valentine’ and ‘Dublin In Ecstasy’ flaunting their impressive progress.