The story behind Insecure Men’s debut record began with Saul Adamczewski teaming up with old school chum Ben Romans-Hopcraft (of the band Childhood) to form the duo after being asked to temporarily depart from his primary occupation as guitarist and main songwriter for England’s bad boys of indie rock, Fat White Family. Whether the split is temporary or permanent remains unclear. What is most clear is the relative ease with which Adamczewski switched from the darkness and depravity of his former work to the lightness and effervescence of his most recent. The bulk of the record was written during a particularly tumultuous time for Adamczewski while sharing a South London practice space with his former bandmates. The eponymous debut began to take shape during Adamczewski’s stay in upstate New York while working on the Moonlandingz collaborative recording project with Sean Lennon and Fat White Family bandmate Lias Saoudi. Lennon, hearing Adamczewski tinkering away in the corridors of his New York recording studio in-between Moonlandingz takes, was intrigued with what he heard and stepped in as co-producer. Gradually, as more and more layers were added, what began life as an eleven track demo tape recorded on an old Tascam multi-track tape recorder evolved into the self-titled debut we hear today leaving virtually no trace of the original demos which lay underneath. Highlights include numerous playful nods to original madcap crazy diamond Syd Barrett as well as a delightful dash of psychedelicized exotica Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny would be proud of. One of the most wonderfully curious records of 2018, Insecure Men deserves exploring.
Rating: 8.3/10
Star Rating: 3.5/5
2018 Song Of The Day Club Album Review 11/52