Whoever is behind the marketing for Insecure Men deserves a prize.
I had never heard of these guys, but I’m a massive fan of The Moonlandinz and Fat White Family. In fact, The Moonlandinz 2017 release Interplanetary Class Classics was my favorite album of last year. Based on my love of that band I was targeted with Fat White Family and Moonlandingz guitarist Saul Adamczewski’s new project, Insecure Men. It was a beautiful campaign that not only turned me on to the band but also got me to pre-order the record, and finally get a ticket to the show. This is exactly how digital marketing is supposed to work, and thankfully someone in Saul’s camp gets it, or otherwise this would have slipped by me.
Insecure Men is a supergroup of sorts formed by Saul Adamczewski and Childhood’s frontman Ben Romans-Hopcraft. The record is all sorts of lo-fi brilliance rolled up in ’70s AM rock production. Remember what MGMT tried to do on their second and third records and failed miserably? Well, Saul and Ben fucking nail it. Even taking it up a notch. It’s the perfect soundtrack for mellowing out while taking a break from the world as it seems to be destroying itself.
While the style of the record may be all over the place, it somehow plays out brilliantly. “Mekong Glitter” bleeds a bit of T. Rex, “Teenage Toy” is a song the Dandy Warhols probably wished they had written, and “I Don’t Wanna Dance (with My Baby)” is a perfect mash of Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie and the best of Sweet. The live show, while not the most exciting thing in the world to watch, brings the songs to life as the band gracefully executes these challenging soundscapes
While the headliner was brilliant, the opening two bands rounded out the evening perfectly. First up was Pregoblin, another new one for me, but holy hell these guys (and a girl) were spectacular. They reminded me of a medieval Scissor Sisters with a bit of lo-fi, sweet 70’s soul.
Singer-songwriter Raf Rundell was the buffer between the three bands, and this guy can write some funky songs. Opening up with just he and a guitar, he crooned a few bars before a badass dude on bass came out and laid down the law of funk. Even Show Boy made an appearance to pull out the soon to be dance floor classic, “Sweet Cheeks.”
Three epic bands coming together for a special night in London kicking off their tour, what more could you ask for? How about a slew of UK rock ‘n’ roll upstarts and up and comers as part of the sold-out crowd. Walking back from the photo pit I ran into Moonlandingz frontman Lias Saoudi and had to tell him that he made one of my all-time favorite records. He would join Insecure Men for a number later on that night.
I also ran into Oliver Burslem from another one of my favorite UK bands, Yak. We got to chatting a bit about the new Yak record that’s coming, and I don’t think there’s a musician on the planet right now who is as excited as this guy to get this one into the hands of the fans. Look out for this one as this second record will be the moment of truth for Yak.
RAF RUNDELL
PREGOLBIN
