Inhaler’s second stab at a Reading performance is a belated victory lap for a band achieving their highest ambitions.
Words: Finlay Holden.
Photos: Patrick Gunning.
Inhaler have long been festival sweethearts and are no newcomers to Reading & Leeds, or its main stages. This time, though, they return with fresh material from February’s ‘Cuts & Bruises’, a record that took the euphoric anthems of their 2021 debut and honed that approach into something even more sharp and addictive.
This rapid evolution has only improved the four-piece’s stagecraft, the band firing sounds around the stage while Eli’s charming, lowkey vocal takes to the forefront to deliver catchy melody after catchy melody. ‘These Are The Days’, ‘Cheer Up Baby’, ‘Just To Keep You Satisfied’, ‘Love Will Get You There’… the hits start coming, and they don’t stop.
Confident, free and not afraid to indulge, Inhaler’s second stab at a Reading performance is a belated victory lap for a band achieving their highest ambitions. Ever since they stormed onto the scene, the electric excitement around them has refused to settle down, and on this evidence, that shows no signs of changing any time soon.
