Black Country duo BIG SPECIAL first caught our attention last year with ‘SH*THOUSE’. With Joe Hicklin’s poet tongue and crooning vocals and Callum Moloney’s bombastic drums, they followed it up with a handful of notable singles such as ‘This Ain’t Here Water’. Now having won over fans and critics in the second half of 2023, they’re releasing their debut full-length on May 10th. The announcement of ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ is joined by today’s Song of the Day – ‘Dust Off / Start Again’.
The track epitomizes what BIG SPECIAL are all about – that words matter. Hicklin’s spoken biting bars are reminiscent of Scroobius Pip and Idles‘ Joe Talbot, commenting on relatable, working-class hardships, Yet he counters it with haunting soulful vocals. Aided by Moloney’s towering percussion, and a shared societal venom, there is an angsty punk spine to ‘Dust Off / Start Again’.
“‘Dust Off / Start Again’ is a bolt of cursed vomit, spewed into a stewpot of English class issues regarding housing, ownership, mental illness, appropriation and human rights. It’s about the disregard for the common man. And how it is expected of anyone, regardless of their situation, to carry on, struggle through and go to work,” explains BIG SPECIAL‘s Joe Hicklin.
Furthermore, the track lends itself to ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ over-arching theme – depression. ‘Dust Off / Start Again’ captures the mental weight that certain areas of society suffer from; go to work, and accept your status as it’s all you’ve got because those in power frankly don’t care. They don’t realise the mental toll it takes on those who are suffering.
“It’s about how the privileged and powerful attempt to define, debate and justify the social positions of all whilst the ideals of our governing systems are pressed upon the working-class youth,” Joe adds. “They quietly accept their role as a commodity and place blame on each other, as they wave the flag that keeps them down.”
With each track BIG SPECIAL has released, Hicklin and Moloney’s narrative has been forthright, and ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ promises to be no different. Examining how depression can happen in different forms, whether that be personally, socially, or generationally, the record doesn’t provide answers but an opportunity to vent and react to modern-day Britain. Sure, its tone is dark and rageful, yet the album holds a quiet sentiment of love and hope.
Hicklin neatly sums it up by stating “It’s about laughing at the face of the void, recognising its oppressive weight, holding hands and moving forward.”
The release of ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ on May 10th comes amid a hectic touring schedule. April sees them heading out with Grandma’s House as part of the ‘DIY Now & Next tour’, before further headline dates. And it’s no surprise the duo will be hitting up several festivals this summer including Reading & Leeds.
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
‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ by BIG SPECIAL is released on May 11th, 2024 on SO Recordings.
1. BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC
2. I MOCK JOGGERS
3. DESPERATE BREAKFAST
4. SHITHOUSE
5. THIS HERE AIN’T WATER
6. MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT)
7. BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE
8. BROADCAST: TIME AWAY
9. iLL.
10. MONGREL
11. BUTCHER’S BIN
12. DUST OFF / START AGAIN
13. TREES
14. FOR THE BIRDS
15. DiG!
Find BIG SPECIAL on: Facebook | X (Formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music | Linktr.ee | Website
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