Rating:
TOM ODELL: Monsters (Columbia)
Verdict: Conquers its demons
Young rock groups have been hit harder than most by the lockdowns of the past 16 months.
Not only have they been unable to tour regularly, they have also struggled to make records as they once did.
Songwriting sessions have been confined to Zoom and even band meetings in the pub have been off the agenda.
Irish quartet Inhaler are typical. They formed as teenagers at St Andrew s College in Dublin, and were one of my tips for 2020.
They expected to spend most of last summer winning new fans at festivals such as Glastonbury and Latitude. Their first album should have come out so long ago that they would be nervously contemplating its sequel.