From the T-Rex soul shuffle of ‘Your House’ to the smouldering Kings of Leon style charger ‘Eddie In The Darkness’, Inhaler’s influences are far from opaque on their third offering ‘Open Wide’. Polished musical motifs flow readily with each member showcasing their individual gifts throughout the album’s 13 tracks. Hewson’s much maligned voice shines throughout skipping neatly between the varied assembled tracks.

Kid Harpoon’s production leans heavily towards the ‘80s – snappy snares and dayglow synths jump out like a Smash Hits cover.  It’s safe to say ‘Open Wide’ has its moments and yet it doesn’t quite land. Whatever edge the band had on their first two albums has been sanitised in favour of a fully fledged stadium rock sound to the point that ‘Open Wide’ practically screams this is PG-13 matinee fun for the whole family. Case in point: while it’s perfectly enjoyable, if you asked Chat GPT to make you a radio-friendly Republic of Loose-esque song, it would probably spit out ‘Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)’.

The album’s low point arrives with the wholly unbelievable ‘So Young’, which Hewson is about 25 years too young to sing. The veil is lifted occasionally beyond boy-meets-girl sing-along with the odd shot of darkness and we get a glimpse of what Elijah Hewson and Co. are really thinking, but for the most part ‘Open Wide’ is weighted down so much by its influences and production that it’s hard to get beyond them and find a sense of who Inhaler truly are as people.

‘Open Wide’ is a slight stumble for the group creatively but will no doubt be a success in America – a market this album has clearly been designed with in mind.  As calculated gambles go it’s hard to argue with, even if it’s clearly an attempt to become the biggest band in the world and not the best.