Inhaler Take On Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ for ‘Like a Version’

Irish rockers Inhaler have offered up a re-imagining of Kavinsky’s “Nightcall” as part of their recent appearance on Like a Version, the long-running covers segment from Australian radio station triple j.

The group’s cover was recorded during their most recent visit to Australia earlier this month – their second trip Down Under, having only made their debut in the country last year. As part of their session, the group launched into proceedings with a rendition of their original track “Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)” – as featured on their third studio album, Open Wide.

Ahead of their Like a Version set, triple j alerted listeners to an apparent rumor that had overtaken their social media feed in which an unnamed individual had spread the claim that Inhaler would be covering Benson Boone’s “Mystical Magical.”

While the rumor resulted in “hundreds of people are flooding our dms mad at us,” there turned out to be little truth in the allegation, with Inhaler instead choosing Kavinsky’s “Nightcall.”

Originally released in 2010 and later featured on the French musician’s debut album, 2013’s OutRun, “Nightcall” also features production work from Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. 

While never impacting the Hot 100, it became something of a cultural touchstone thanks to its appearance in the title sequence to Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 film Drive, and would later gain enough attention for Kavinsky to perform the track at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

“I  think because it was a movie soundtrack that kind of felt different to covering just a normal pop song,” Inhaler’s Elijah Hewson explained in a post-performance interview. “So that kind of made us kind of lean into it a bit.”

“I snuck it into our pre-show playlist, and that was kind of a nice kind [way of] testing the waters,” added Robert Keating. “So I’m kind of hoping that all our fans have already got it ingrained in their memory. 

“We all agreed on it as well. [It’s the] same reason we’re called Inhaler. When you can all agree on something in a band, it usually means that all a good sign.”

Having first launched in 2004, the Like a Version series has gone from being a near-impromptu acoustic affair to featuring larger studio productions. Numerous artists have taken part over the past two decades, with the likes of Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino, Arctic Monkeys, and more reinventing classic tracks in the process.

View Inhaler’s cover of “Nightcall” below: