TOUTS & Inhaler - Two Irish Bands You Need To Check Out

The Academy is a Music Club situated right in the heart of Dublin, and is the ideal place to hear the best music Ireland has to offer, with gigs from all walks of music being performed literally daily, there's always something on for everyone. Last night I attended a Gig for 'TOUTS', a Teenage 3-Piece Punk Group from Derry, Northern Ireland. They were being supported by another up and coming Irish Band, 'Inhaler', a Pop/Rock 4-Piece who are fronted by Elijah Hewson, the son of U2 frontman, Bono. Now I went into this blind, with my interest being fully focused on Inhaler due to their hype and story, basically seeing if they could live up to what everyone is saying about them. They were fantastic, but I left the Gig being f*cking blown away by TOUTS. Overall, the night was brilliant, but for a €10 ticket? Insane.

TOUTS - From left to right; Jason Feenan (Drums), Matthew Crossan (Vocals & Guitar), Luke McLaughlin (Bass).

I'll get onto Inhaler later on, but now I just want to give my opinion on TOUTS. I knew nothing about this band going in to last night, no clue about genre, look, members, nothing. It was a €10 ticket that I bought for the support act, and left in confusion about why I hadn't already discovered this Undertones, 2006 Arctic Monkeys and Ramones Crossover Group where every song has this Punk anger, mixed with comedy and angst that will at the same time make you want to dance. The voice of lead singer Matthew Crossan really has that Feargal Sharkey Undertones feel, with both singers being from Derry, but TOUTS' sound is louder, angrier, happier, and more punk than even The Undertones themselves. Bassist Luke McLaughlin also performs vocals on many songs, and he has a great voice which when backed by Crossan's piercing guitar riffs it makes the band sound unstoppable.

They also really have that early Arctic Monkeys era feel about them, the sound is obviously different but the feel and energy is spot on to those 2005/6 AM performances from dingy London, Manchester and of course Sheffield Clubs. They played mostly new material during the gig, which left the crowd more paying attention than moshing, and I'm sure this was the case as a sighting of a phone was actually quite rare during their performance. But towards the last few songs, a good section of the crowd was head banging away. After now copping on and investigating the band, my favourite songs are 'Political People' and 'Saturday Night Scumbag', these two stuck out to me most at the show. I highly encourage you to dive into their material, it's punk through and through.

TOUTS performing at The Academy in Dublin on March 20th, 2019.

So, it could be said that Inhaler have big shoes to fill. But I do get the feeling that they're not trapped inside that U2 or Bono shadow, I think they have this young cult following right now, that treat them for what they are rather than what they're expected to be. Inhaler took the stage first last night, and walked out to zero reception. The place was about a third full, and the crowd was dead silent for their arrival. Elijah's only words before the opening song were, 'We're Inhaler', spoken with calmness and confidence, almost knowing that despite the sh*t crowd reaction, they were about to f*cking rock the place. By the end of their brief 6/7 song set, the crowd was fully behind them. They were very good, but they've only four songs released as of now. I think a full album release could propel these guys to the f*cking moon.

Inhaler performing at The Academy in Dublin on March 20th, 2019.

So all I can say is, check out these two bands. They compliment each other very well, live and just for listening, and are two hidden gems inside of Irish Music, which cannot go unnoticed. Thank you for reading.