Cuts & Bruises is the second studio album by Irish rock band Inhaler. It was released on 17 February 2023 through Polydor Records.[1]

Cuts & Bruises
Studio album by
Released17 February 2023
StudioNarcissus Studio, London
GenreIndie rock
Length45:41
LabelPolydor
ProducerAntony Genn
Inhaler chronology
It Won't Always Be Like This
(2021)
Cuts & Bruises
(2023)
Open Wide
(2025)
Singles from Cuts & Bruises
  1. "These Are the Days"
    Released: 7 June 2022
  2. "Love Will Get You There"
    Released: 13 October 2022
  3. "If You're Gonna Break My Heart"
    Released: 1 February 2023
  4. "Just to Keep You Satisfied"
    Released: 11 June 2023

Background

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Work for Cuts & Bruises began while touring for their debut album It Won't Always Be Like This in early 2022. Of the process, band member Elijah Hewson told Billboard: "I think we learned a lot of lessons on [It Won't Always Be Like This], and I think when we came into the second we had a better picture of how we wanted to do things. [...] I think the main thing we said is we wanted less information, to let the songs breathe a bit. I think we were just more confident, and you don't have to add as much if you are confident in the songs and material. And that was the basis of what we went off and I think it guided us pretty well".[2]

Singles

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The album's lead single, "These Are the Days", was released on 7 June 2022.[3] The second single, "Love Will Get You There", was released on 13 October 2022.[4] The third single, "If You're Gonna Break My Heart", was released on 1 February 2023.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[6]
Metacritic72/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash7/10[8]
Dork     [9]
Gigwise9/10[10]
The Independent     [11]
The Irish Times     [12]
NME     [13]
The Telegraph     [14]

Upon release, Cuts & Bruises received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average of 72 based on four critical reviews.[7] Another music aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.2 out of 10 based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[6]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Elijah Hewson, Josh Jenkinson, Robert Keating, Ryan McMahon, and Antony Genn

Cuts & Bruises track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Just to Keep You Satisfied"3:35
2."Love Will Get You There"4:10
3."So Far So Good"3:13
4."These Are the Days"3:45
5."If You're Gonna Break My Heart"4:27
6."Perfect Storm"3:43
7."Dublin in Ecstasy"5:11
8."When I Have Her on My Mind"4:01
9."Valentine"4:07
10."The Things I Do"4:42
11."Now You Got Me"4:42

Personnel

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Inhaler

  • Elijah Hewson – vocals, electric guitar (all tracks); synthesizer (1, 3, 7, 8, 10), keyboards (2, 4), background vocals (3, 8, 10), acoustic guitar (6, 7)
  • Robert Keating – bass guitar (all tracks), background vocals (1, 2, 4–11), synthesizer (1, 3, 6, 8–11), keyboards (2)
  • Ryan McMahon – drums
  • Josh Jenkinson – electric guitar (all tracks), background vocals (1, 2, 4–11), synthesizer (1, 3, 6, 8–11); keyboards, percussion (2)

Additional musicians

  • Antony Genn – percussion (1–9, 11), drum machine (1), stylophone (1, 3), theremin (1, 3), keyboards (2, 4), background vocals (4), string arrangement (5, 6), synthesizer (7, 11)
  • Andrea Cozzaglio – programming
  • Drew Dungate Smith – programming (1–9, 11)
  • Martin SlatteryHammond organ (2, 5, 6, 9), piano (5)
  • Amy Langley – cello, string arrangement (5, 6)
  • Richard Harwood – cello (5, 6)
  • Jessie Murphy – violin (5, 6)
  • Kotono Sato – violin (5, 6)
  • Marianne Haynes – violin (5, 6)
  • Rosie Langley – violin (5, 6)

Technical

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ "Cuts & Bruises by Inhaler". Apple Music. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ Olivier, Bobby (14 February 2023). "Inhaler Prepares for Rock Stardom: 'We're Still Freaked Out That This Has Even Happened'". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. ^ Campbell, Erica (7 June 2022). "Inhaler drop new single 'These Are The Days'". NME. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. ^ Brayden, Kate (13 October 2022). "Inhaler go vintage for new single 'Love Will Get You There'". Hotpress. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  5. ^ Aubrey, Elizabeth (1 February 2023). "Listen to Inhaler's emotive new song, 'If You're Gonna Break My Heart'". NME. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Cuts & Bruises by Inhaler reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Cuts & Bruises by Inhaler". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  8. ^ Murray, Robin (15 February 2023). "INHALER - Cuts & Bruises | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  9. ^ MacMillan, Jamie (15 February 2023). "Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises | Dork". Dork. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  10. ^ McCarthy, Neive (16 February 2023). "Album Review: Inhaler - Cuts & Bruises | Gigwise". Gigwise. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  11. ^ Graye, Megan (16 February 2023). "Inhaler offer up stadium songs for the masses on Cuts & Bruises – review". The Independent. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  12. ^ Murphy, Lauren (17 February 2023). "Inhaler: Cuts & Bruises – Exciting glimmers of greatness". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  13. ^ Smith, Thomas (15 February 2023). "Inhaler - 'Cuts & Bruises' review: a bold step forward". NME. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  14. ^ McCormick, Neil; French-Morris, Kate; Shutler, Ali; Perry, Andrew (17 February 2023). "Caroline Polachek goes to paradise, Pink loses the attitude – the week's best albums". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Inhaler – Cuts & Bruises". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  23. ^ Griffiths, George (3 January 2024). "The Official Top 20 biggest cassettes of 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2024.