“It Won’t Always Be Like This”: The Timeless Rock n’ Roll Sound of Inhaler

Photo Credit: Dan Kenny

After the release of multiple rock-enthused singles through the early stages of Inhaler’s repertoire and into 2020, they crafted their works into a debut album that landed a spot on the charts as a #1 debut album. The Dublin, Irish quartet composed of Elijah Hewsen (vocals), Robert Keating (bass), Josh Jenkinson (lead guitar) and Ryan McMahon (drums) - offer a wide lens outlook on their life, creating this album beginning when they were 17. As a debut album is a signifying moment in a young band’s career, Inhaler emerged with an album that shows their evolution as young artists through themes of love, adolescence, losing yourself and finding yourself again.

Inhaler’s 2019 single version of “It Won’t Always Be Like This” and the 2021 re-recording for the album, stood out significantly not only because of its killer name but Inhaler’s growth as artists are felt through this re-recording. Now, the title of the album expresses a message of hope but in 10 years it may represent something totally different. The title alone can be deciphered in many versatile ways; which truly is part of the timeless beauty of the record. Inhaler decided to re-record the single for the album, as they realized that the track complimented the thematics of the debut album so perfectly.

“I think when we were recording, it was a pretty dark time. The pandemic was happening and there was lots of bad stuff going on. We didn’t really know if we were going to play live again so we wanted to make a really joyful record”, Elijah shares in reflection of what listeners can take away from the album.

“It Won’t Always Be Like This” re-imagines the alternative rock n’ roll sound while submerging the sounds of Inhaler’s inspirations. The album landed a spot in a playlist of mine mixed with heaps of indie-alternative and classic rock bands such as Mazzy Star, The Stone Roses, Blur, The Strokes and Interpol.

“We’ve got a lot of different inspirations. We look at it as a venn diagram with The Stone Roses, Oasis and Joy Division in the middle. Then you’ve got all these little branches as the lads and I are really into rock. I had a Bob Dylan phase in my life, which is still intact now - it’s just a really interesting combination,” Elijah shares.

“Cheer Up Baby took the longest to get right, we were recording that for a long time”, Josh shares on which track went through the most changes. The splattered paint creatively used throughout the music video for the track oddly enough reminded me of The Stone Roses self-titled album artwork.

The band has been friends since they were quite young and together found a shared liking for music and songwriting. While separated due to the pandemic and quarantines, they found their first in-person studio session refreshing. They got tighter as a group, joining back together like they never left.

“Being in the studio creating something together is great, but there’s also a lot of uncertainty when you’re creating something new. For us, when we’re on tour, we’re able to see people enjoying themselves through something that we’ve created,” Ryan shares.

As the debut album was years in the making, hearing the final version of the record reinstates a euphoric feeling for the boys as they grew along with the album itself. 

“I think we had listened to it the day after it came out. That was a good moment for us, where we all enjoyed the album for the first time. There was a lot of hard work put into it so I think it was just very rewarding. It’s nice to have something that you can see, after putting in a lot of work and getting to see results the week it came out. Still, even today when people are sharing it and enjoying the songs,” Robert shares on the first listen of the record.

“It Won’t Always Be Like This” pushes the boundaries of experimental sounds and musical atmospheres. The band took hold of all of their inspirations and ideas, and creatively rolled out some smashing hits. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a sucker for a dirty bass line. I realized while listening throughout this record that dirty bass lines are in fact a new love language in music. We had the opportunity to ask Inhaler specifically about their musical direction in “Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)” as it features a thick bass line and moves subtly into a bass-less ambiance - separating almost into two unique songs.

“When it comes to the bass, a big reason for me to push myself is because of our producer, Antony, who is a very magical character in the Inhaler world. He puts the bows on at the end like a present. I think we came with a bunch of demos to him ages ago for most of the songs on the album at different stages and they’ve all had bass lines where it’s been a bit boring really. He’s shown us how to push ourselves musically, to excite the listener. We always feel like there should be a hook in our songs. Whether it’s a vocal, a bass line, Ryan on drums or Josh on the guitar. We always feel like they’re shouldn’t be a moment where you’re not entertained and enjoying the music”, Robert shares.

“Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)” had a particular special spot in all of the bandmates' hearts as Robert shares, “it’s one of those songs where it revealed itself naturally, which helped us out big time; it reminded us why we liked making music in the first place”.

Inhaler collaborated with artist Noel Fielding for an exclusive special edition of their record. They chatted a bit about how that creative decision was made and how that vinyl came to be.

“We used to watch Mighty Boosh, Eli got us on to it. It’s a show that Noel Fielding did on BBC3 and we got a bit obsessed with it. It’s kind of whacky and ‘otherworldly’. We always thought it’d be a cool idea to get Noel to do the actual album cover but if you’ve seen the artwork, he made us look a bit scary and we thought it wouldn’t be appealing to everyone. We decided to go with it as an alternative version”, Robert says in reflection of the Noel Fielding artwork.

The band made the decision to not add their earlier single releases such as “Ice Cream Sundae”, “Falling In” and “We Have To Move On” onto their debut album - however, did add “My Honest Face” and “When It Breaks”. We asked them if they found those previous singles already spoke their own independent storyline as standalones.

“Yeah, I think that’s exactly how we imagined it. There were a few songs that were fighting to have space on the record for multiple reasons but I think that the main one was that they inhabited their own space in our release history,” Elijah shares. Each song on the record fits so well together, as every track is complimented by the next - continuing this storyline that Inhaler themselves have evolved with. “We live in the world of streaming, so it’s not like if someone doesn't have our record they can’t listen to all of our other material”.

It’s safe to say when this album came out, and even through Inhaler’s earlier work - personally, it helped me through some pretty tough times and constitutes as a perfect soundtrack for a late-night drive in your car. Ireland has a strong rock n’ roll history and Inhaler truly is a band that commemorates the core of rock music while still digging their heels into the industry to create a timeless album that challenges the generic rock formula.

Inhaler is making their way back on the road for an 18-date tour of the UK & Ireland in the fall before making their way to North America in March of 2022. Inhaler’s “It Won’t Always Be Like This” is a debut album full of intimate storytelling and eccentric rhythms, closing a chapter of the band’s life and beginning another.