Inhaler at the Forum

It’s 31^st October, Halloween is upon us, and the Kentish Town Forum is packed to the rafters, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a certain Dublin rock band.

There is a touch of Inhaler-mania in the air tonight – as the lights go down and the band take to the stage, there is an almost deafening sound of thousands of young girls screaming at once. Inhaler kicks off the concert with the joyful These Are the Days, followed by We Have to Move On, which is met with rapturous applause. The crowd is very reactive, and at times you have to wonder if they’re feeding extra screams into the sound system because it really is overwhelmingly loud – but this is the reality of being in a popular indie boy band and being even prettier than Harry Styles. At one point, singer Elijah Hewson takes a costume headband from a fan at the front and puts it on, much to the fan’s delight.

Most of Inhaler’s catalogue consists of pure and simple indie love songs, something they do really well. Dublin in Ecstacy is a coming-of-age classic, while Valentine is a sweet yet almost haunting track; you can see why the majority of their fanbase are young women.

Inhaler closes the main part of their set with the sombre If You’re Gonna Break My Heart, and this is followed by a ten-minute interlude of lightning and rainfall. After half expecting the band to play a cover of Riders on the Storm by The Doors, we’re finally graced with their return after a Halloween costume change.

“Happy Halloween, motherfuckers,” says Hewson, now head to toe in leather and resembling Elvis. The band launches into the latest album’s opening track Just to Keep You Satisfied before finishing the gig with the undeniably fantastic My Honest Face. As we say goodbye to Elvis, Sid Vicious, Phil Lynott, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, it’s clear that there’s a hell of a lot more to come from Inhaler. Watch this space.

Hannah Broughton
Photos: Lewis Evans

For further information and future events visit Inhaler’s website here.

Watch the video for the single My Honest Face here: