Having set a release date of May 10th for their debut album, ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’, Black Country duo Big Special have delivered another preview in the form of ‘Butcher’s Bin’.
Always ones to tell it as it is, it sees them address the struggle that working-class artists face when breaking into the Arts. “it’s s about class awareness and the realisation that the working classes are used as nothing but a commodity and set against each other at every turn,” explains Big Special vocalist Joe Hicklin. “Their existence trivialised and struggles denied; the off cuts tossed to feed the rabid hounds of neoliberalism.”
“The song is about all of this from the perspective of declining mental health, whilst trying to make a living as an artist and to break through in a time and place where a life in (the) arts is seen as a luxury, granted to those of a higher social class or a fruitless pursuit for idealistic fools.”
‘Butcher’s Bin’ is considerably Big Special in their most rawest form. Callum Moloney’s accentuated drum work combines with spacious synths, allowing Hicklin’s semi-spoken words to take centre stage. Furthermore, it sees Hicklin take the viewpoint of a struggling artist with ailing mental health before being treated like “a fresh bouquet of limbs”.
‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ by BIG SPECIAL is released on May 11th, 2024 on SO Recordings.
When can I see Big Special in the UK?
Although they are currently in South America supporting Placebo, Big Special will be back in the UK next month for the first of several dates throughout the spring and summer.
April
3rd Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff (DIY Now & Next tour)
4th Bullingdon, Oxford (DIY Now & Next tour)
5th Yellow Arch Studio, Sheffield (DIY Now & Next tour)
6th Green Door Store, Brighton (DIY Now & Next tour)
7th Joiners, Southampton (DIY Now & Next tour)
12th New Century Hall, Manchester (supp. Antony Szmierek)
13th Lafayette, London (supp. Antony Szmierek)
May
7th District, Liverpool
8th The Key Club, Leeds
9th XOYO, Birmingham
10th King Tuts, Glasgow
12th Strange Brew, Bristol
16th Jazz Café, London
17th Horatio’s, Brighton (The Great Escape 2024)
18th Deaf Institute, Manchester
20th Kasbah Club, Limerick, Ireland
21st Workman’s Cellar, Dublin, Ireland
22nd Ulster Sports Bar, Belfast, Northern Ireland
26th Bearded Theory Festival, Derbyshire
July
28th Latitude Festival, Suffolk
August
23th Reading Festival, Reading
24th Leeds Festival, Leeds
