O2 Academy Brixton, 13th Februrary 2025
When the lights dim in Brixton’s O2 Academy, the sheer volume of the roar that ensues from the crowd is indicative of one thing and one thing only – Irish pop-rock band Inhaler are about to take the stage, and their fans are going to give them the effusive welcome they deserve. Hot on the heels of their third album, Open Wide, tonight is the first of two shows in the emblematic London venue.
Clad in leather and black denim, the band walk on stage, wasting no time before launching into ‘My Honest Face’. And while opening with one of your biggest (and best) songs is a gamble, it pays off, as it throws the crowd straight in the deep end, giving the crowd no time to warm up and launching them straight into a roaring night of fun.
When played live, these tracks regain much of the grit that characterised their first two albums
‘Eddie in the Darkness’ soon follows, and judging by the way fans react to the opening chords, it is difficult to believe that the track was released only a week before the show. Similarly, ‘A Question of You’, one of the singles off of Open Wide, receives an effusive welcome as the crowd dances and sings along to its earworm of a chorus.
Although Open Wide was characterised by its poppier production and abundance of synths, when played live, these tracks regain much of the grit that characterised their first two albums. Combined with the band’s rock-and-roll look and the power emanating from the electric guitars on stage, it’s hard to believe that Open Wide was the band’s first venture into pop.
But while ‘Eddie in the Darkness’ and ‘A Question of You’ both receive enthusiastic cheers, in contrast, the crowd’s reaction to ‘Little Things’ and ‘X-Ray’ is muted. However, ‘My King Will Be Kind’, and its mandatory singalongs of “I fucking hate that bitch” during its chorus bring the energy in the room back to a fever pitch.
The stage setup is plain throughout the show, with only a white sheet with a flower from the Open Wide album cover projected onto it. For a venue as grand as the Brixton O2 Academy, the sparse stage setup feels like a missed opportunity.
‘Cheer Up Baby’ gives the crowd a chance to release any last bits of pent-up energy
During ‘Dublin in Ecstasy’, they project an Irish flag onto the sheet behind them, raising a furore from the devoted crowd. By the time they start ‘Love Will Get You There’, fans below are a unified mass with arms flying and swaying from side to side during its toe-tapping choruses. ‘Still Young’, with its Springsteen-esque ambition, works beautifully live and raises the question of why the band doesn’t write bigger, more anthemic songs more often. ‘Still Young’ then flows beautifully into the groovy danceability of ‘Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)’, which has everyone (including the band) swaying back and forth.
‘Cheer Up Baby’ gives the crowd a chance to release any last bits of pent-up energy, to the point that when the band leave the stage, rather than needing to drum up excitement for the band to come back out, the crowd stay silent, needing to take a moment to compose themselves.
Beginning the encore with ‘Open Wide’, a track with hints of garage music, is a stroke of genius as the venue temporarily transforms into a pulsating, vibrant nightclub, making it a perfect start to the end of the night. From then on, ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ and ‘Your House’ end the show. The band thank the crowd, walk off stage, and breathless concert-goers climb the O2 Academy’s sloping floor, spilling out of its doors onto the bustling streets of Brixton and breathing in the cold February air.
It’s a night of joyous celebration. Inhaler isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with what they do or pretend to be something they’re not. Instead, they’re doing what any good band should do: they have an arsenal of great, catchy songs and a desire to play them live. And if they can do one thing, it is to provide the soundtrack and atmosphere for a brilliant night out.
Words and image: Sophie Flint Vázquez
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