Welcome everyone to Sodejaker on songwriting, episode 282.

Brian here, joined by Simon, and with us today is precisely half of Ireland's hottest indie rock four piece.

During their relatively short existence thus far, they've already shifted over a quarter of a million albums,

notched up 500 million streams, and built a substantial and adoring worldwide fan base.

As this episode strides into your feeds and embraces you warmly, the band recently dropped

their third char-topping album in just four years, the Kid Harpoon produced Open Wide.

We're very happy to welcome Inhaler's frontman Elijah Houston and guitarist Josh Jenkinson to the show.

The Inhaler story began in 2012 at St Andrews College in Black Rock, Dublin, where three school

pals with a shared love of guitar music and Manchester bands like the Stone Roses, Joy Division

and Happy Mondays decided to put a band together themselves. A few years later, founder members

Elijah, drummer Ryan McMahon and bass player Robert

Keating invited Josh into the fold after he and Eli had met and struck up a near instant friendship

at a party. Christening themselves inhaler at the suggestion of Elijah's big sister Jordan. They

started out playing a mixture of covers and original material and before too long they were tentatively

cutting their teeth on the

doubling gig circuit. Apparently, during that period, Elijah would tell the other guys he had

lyrics ready for their new songs, but actually just made them up on the spot during the show.

Well, that's one way to do it, I suppose. Yeah, yeah. The band independently released their

self-produced debut single, I Want You, in 2017.

It was while touring with our former guests, Stockport's Own Blossoms, that they acquired management and garnered interest from labels, ultimately signing to Polydor in 2019.

Inhaler's long-playing debut, 2021's It Won't Always Be Like This, shot straight to number

one in the UK and Ireland, while its successor

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