INSECURE MEN – Botanique, Brussels – 27 April 2018

INSECURE MEN is a new musical project formed by lifelong friends Saul Adamczewski (guitarist/songwriter for the most fascinating band in ages: Fat White Family) and Ben Romans-Hopcraft (frontman of London’s indie popsters Childhood). With both having
a variety of difficult personal experiences (hopefully) behind them the pair recorded and released a gripping don’t look back in anger longplayer. Produced by Sean Lennon (yes, the son of…) this gripping self-titled debut is to the heavy-hearted side of my ears a first-rate achievement. Gloomy melancholia at its very best. A captivating melting pot of cynicism injected stories drenched in highly affecting retro pop orchestrations. Romantic Wurlitzer tunes for 50s ballrooms with young, insecure people looking for much-needed attention on the dance floor. Something like this sweet little gem…

Last Friday the band – actually an orchestra of eight including a sultry saxophonist and
a teenage-looking pedal steel guitarist – hit Brussels. They translated, after a rather slow start, the weirdly glamorous and smoothly catchy feel of the album just perfectly onto the stage. At times this concert felt like an intimate campfire-like gathering in some dark alley of a big city with sticky sing along musings as nostalgic as the old-fashioned design of most of the band’s suits. As we all know, vulnerable and heartbreaking romanticism is timeless and ageless. The crowd, ranging from 16 to 60 years old, was into it until the very end when all present clapped and swayed along to darksome lullaby closer ‘Burried In The Bleak’ after Saul‘s hot shower in ‘Whitney Houston and I‘. It was good to see the once-troubled frontman smile again…

Hear this…

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INSECURE MEN: Story – Facebook – Instagram

Picture this…

Insecure frontman…

Childhood echoes…

Smooth sax…

Ballroom nostalgia…

Setlist…

(concert pics by JL/Turn Up The Volume!)