Engine Rooms, Southampton
Tonight the Engine Rooms in Southampton plays host to one of the music scene’s hottest bands to emerge out of the last few years. Dublin band Inhaler has had a meteoric rise to fame in a short space of time with their highly acclaimed debut album It Won’t Always Be Like This toured extensively throughout Europe and America. The band’s fan base is growing considerably off the back of their monumental live performances. They should have performed gigs in Southampton at The Brook and in Bournemouth at the Old Fire Station; after these dates got cancelled due to the pandemic, the band eventually have honoured their commitment and offered ticket holders a combined gig in a larger venue. Tonight every ticket has been sold and the venue is more packed than I have seen it on any of my previous 50-odd visits to the place. The last time Inhaler was in this town was in October 2019 they played at Heartbreakers and only about 50 or so people were in attendance.
Inhaler has given themselves a big challenge in following tonight’s support act, the mighty Stone from Liverpool who themselves have a huge stage presence and bring with them the spirit of the historic Merseyside music scene. Kicking off with “Keep Running” the four-piece show themselves to this crowd to be full of explosive, youthful energy. The band features Fin Power on Vocals/Guitar, Sarah Surrage on Bass, Elliot Gill on Lead Guitar and Alex Smith on Drums. The quartet bring a Punk restlessness to proceedings, delivering songs full of the frustrations of growing up in modern-day Britain.
Fin is a proper full-on frontman who gets in the audience’s faces, delivering fits of anger with his lyrical outbursts. “Let’s Dance To The Real Thing” is an early highlight and gets the enthusiastic and mainly youthful crowd moving. The effect-fed wall of creative, alternative sounds from Elliot’s guitar; coupled with the punchy rhythms really pull you in and wrestle with your senses. There is a host of influences going on from hip hop, grunge and post/punk, as well as a large helping of Scouse DNA; which gives the band its unique flavours.
“Fear Life for a Lifetime” gives us some thought-provoking political poetry, while the powerful “Leave It Out” furnishes us with a wondrous deep set of basslines and more of Fin’s unique vocal delivery. The band finish and promptly leave the stage leaving everybody in this place wanting more; as I said, Inhaler has a job on their hands to follow that electrifying performance.
Inhaler has just announced the release of their second album Cuts And Bruises, which is set to be released February 17th. The band have kept their momentum and profile high over the last couple of years with the five guys fast growing in confidence and stature. They arrive on stage, kicking off with the recent single “These Are The Days” and the audience is positively bouncing from the start as has become a custom with Inhaler gigs; singing the lyrics back to the band in a beautiful unison. The band is made up of Eli Hewson, Lead Vocals & Guitar; Robert Keating on Bass, Josh Jenkinson on guitar, Ryan McMahon on drums and unofficial 5th member Louis Lambert on keyboards.
The band’s sound is packed with some wonderful melodies, atmospheric synths and infectious rhythms that take influences from the past few decades of Alternative/Indie music; while trying to create their own unique sound. Onstage these guys have a solid chemistry full of vitality and loads of loveable Irish charm. Songs like “When It Breaks” and “Cheer Up Baby” have big audience-loving choruses, while the Echo and the Bunnymen-Esque “My King Will Be Kind” shows the band at their creative best with a firm fan favourite. Eli’s charismatic personality is hard to dislike and as a frontman he has many attributes that are very appealing and entertaining in equal amounts.
After an eleven song set the band leave the stage, only to be called back by the audience for more and the band return with a treat in the form of a brand new song “If You’re Gonna Break My Heart”. The track is a slower number and I’m hearing a bit of Elivs’s “Suspicious Minds” in there somewhere – it’s certainly progressing into new areas for them and is very different from anything that they have done before. The band return to more familiar territory with their final number “My Honest Face” and the crowd bring their voices up even higher in celebration of a great evening in the company of two great bands, who will both undoubtedly be big festival headliners of the future. The fantastic Southampton audience should also be commended for their amazing reaction and welcome for these two bands here tonight.
Set Lists
Inhaler
These Are The Days
We Have To Move On
When It Breaks
Who’s Your Money On
Totally
Love Will Get You There
In My Sleep
Slide Out Of The Window
My King Will Be Kind
It Won’t Always Be Like This
Cheer Up Baby
If You’re Gonna Break My Heart
My Honest Face
Stone
Keep Running
Fuse
Let’s Dance to the Real Thing
Money (Hope Ain’t Gone)
Waste
Fear Life For a Lifetime
Stupid
Leave It Out
Videos
Links
https://www.inhaler.band
https://www.facebook.com/STONELIVERPOOL
Words by David Chinery (Chinners)
Additional Media by Pete Cole.
