Fat White Family are the Peckham born parents of the more ruminative group, Insecure Men.  In this instance, however, the phrase ’like father like son’ does not comply.  Wipe the slate clean before experiencing Saul Adamczewski and Ben Romans-Hopcraft’s 2015 born alias.  Send your memories of the deranged, outrageously confrontational Fat White Family into the abyss, sit back and relax.

London’s Scala had been scattered with trendsetters from all walks of life, which was to be expected from Insecure Men,  a band whose target audience has no limitations.  The stage itself showcased almost nothing but a clatter of instruments.  Sat on the keyboard, however, was a single vase of flowers, almost mimicking a dreary bouquet placed on the table of a hospital waiting room.

Insecure Men had entered the stage with the familiar, un-bothered attitude, a slight hint of irritation, and a source of light was requested by Saul.  With that, the venue rumbled with what can only be described as ‘amplified lift-music’.

‘Cliff Has Left the Building’ marked one of three old-school celebrity-dedicated tracks, taken from their self-titled debut.   A gentle sway had spread through the almost disorientated crowd, who (with a happy-go-lucky attitude) hummed along.

Cult-like hoo ha’ing and floaty xylophone rhythms left the crowd in a trance-like state.  The Super8-inspired backdrop had encapsulated the loungey, hot-summers-day setting, before Insecure Men’s big-hitter ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance (with My Baby)’ pushed for more movement.

The sarcastic run of the ego-fuelled ’All Women Love Me’ was a singalong dream.  The mellow sounds of the saxophone injected a level of intimacy into Scala, as Saul announced the story behind their next track, ‘Heathrow’.  “It’s about the time, we were in Heathrow.”  Drum Machine patterns collided with Gameboy-like sound effects, finishing off with menacing circus samples. ‘Heathrow’ was a live masterpiece, birthed from becoming blasé about standard experiences.  Simple yet oddly captivating.

Fat White Family frontman, Lias Saoudi, had made his way on stage to perform ‘Ulster’, a track which caused many questions to arise.  This celebrated musician was repeating household objects in a wishy-washy tone: “curtains, carpets, walls and ceilings.”  With this obscure list came the enlightenment.

Insecure Men will continue to make music with their own rules.  The combination of such idiosyncratic talents from each member of the band grants Insecure Men a place in the underground scene.  We see them balancing on the line and never stepping too far into the mainstream.  Their debut album is a settling soundtrack to the comedown from their drug-crazed escapade, there is a lot of history to this band and it is easily seen on this tour.

Words: Ruby Munslow
@rubyymunslow