Shuffle over. Inhaler is here with their latest effort “Totally”.

In the intro to the song, Inhaler grabs our attention with a shuffle groove that makes you feel good again. Elijah Hewson’s vocal style in the verse reminds me of a cross between Morrissey (The Smiths) and Richard Ashcroft (the verve).

The lyrics and melody in the verse are simple and spaced out. The verse lyrics are incredibly well crafted, and the space used to allow the lyrics to sink in, create memorable lyrics that stick to you.

The lines are so cool, Inhaler has worked extremely hard to strike this balance or perhaps they are just gifted geniuses.

In the chorus, Hewson lifts the register and emotion to create a huge hook. One couldn’t imagine it done any other way, because it sounds perfect. The chorus is extremely catchy, melodically, the high note on the word “so”, hits you like an unexpected sucker punch, which makes you want to hear it again.

When you dive into the lyrics, there’s no doubt this is a love song. The listener will relate to “love gone wrong”, the confusion love sometimes causes, and being pulled in two directions. It’s about two people that don’t know whether to stay or leave, it’s done in a clever way without getting too deep into the emotion. This is a true modern love song!

Musically the song stays true to the shuffle beat the whole way through, which gives it a really cool vibe. Piano bass chords/notes, a funky guitar background, with a nice lead guitar riff over the top, all work well together.

The use of a bridge is important, it changes direction slightly, just enough to build dynamics and keep interest and allow a build up into that killer chorus, one everyone will be singing along with.

Inhaler is a young Rock/Pop band from Ireland. This is the first I’ve heard of this band and they really impressed me, so I did some digging on their background. I was shocked to learn the vocalist Elijah Hewson is Bono’s son (U2).

So, it seems we are witnessing a son of a gun! 

This is obviously a lot to live up to, but I have a feeling Inhaler won’t need anyone in their corner to help them succeed. If they keep writing songs like this, the tagline “Bono’s Son”, won’t be such a distraction anymore.

Author: Rob Costa

Rob Costa is a freelance writer & Ghost songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. Rob helps us out with music reviews.