BIG SPECIAL release debut album POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES
Out today via SO Recordings
( Check Out All Music Magazine UK review Here )
UK instore performances and signings begin today
UK headline tour dates underway
( Check Out All Music Magazine UK live review Here )
A run of blistering and dynamic single releases in recent months finally sees the release of BIG SPECIAL’s debut album via SO Recordings. Their 2024 singles ‘DUST OFF / START AGAIN’, ‘BUTCHER’S BIN’ and ‘BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE’ have each shown a different side to the many talents the duo have at their disposal. Traversing sounds that walk a tightrope from the abrasive to the soulful, they’ve picked at the fabric of what it is to be human in the modern world: inspiring resistance and openness in the face of decay.
Lead singer Joe Hicklin says about the album: “POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES is an album about depression. It’s about the different shapes it takes; personal, social, generational… and it’s about coming face to face with those ghosts and what we do or how we feel when that happens.
The album offers no answers, it is just an honest expression of a working-class experience in modern England through the eyes of ill mental health, a pursuit of art and political disenchantment; a story of rumination, realisation and reaction.
POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES is about learning that we are connected by our common struggles and though dark and rageful, the album holds a quiet sentiment of love and hope. It’s about laughing at the face of the void, recognising its oppressive weight, holding hands and moving forward.”
The band now looks forward to a run of UK headline shows, a huge summer of UK and European festivals, as well as tour dates with PIXIES in August. Full dates below.
BIG SPECIAL UK INSTORE PERFORMANCES
10 May – Assai, Edinburgh (1pm) – Tickets here
11 May – Jacaranda, Liverpool (1pm) / Eclipse, Walsall (6pm) – Tickets here
12 May – Rough Trade, Bristol (1pm) – Tickets here
14 May – Rough Trade, Nottingham (6pm) – Tickets here
15 May – Banquet, Kingston upon Thames, London (6pm) – Tickets here
BIG SPECIAL 2024 UK TOUR DATES
Tickets on sale now here.
07 May – District, Liverpool, UK
08 May – The Key Club, Leeds, UK
09 May – XOYO, Birmingham, UK
10 May – King Tuts, Glasgow, UK
12 May – Strange Brew, Bristol, UK
16 May – Jazz Café, London, UK – SOLD OUT
17 May – Horatio’s, Brighton, UK (The Great Escape 2024)
18 May – Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK
20 May – Kasbah Club, Limerick, Ireland
21 May – Workman’s Cellar, Dublin, Ireland
22 May – Ulster Sports Bar, Belfast, Norther Ireland
26 May – Bearded Theory Festival, Derbyshire, UK
28 Jun – Glastonbury Festival, UK
27 Jul – Secret Garden Party, Huntingdon, UK
28 Jul – Latitude Festival, Suffolk, UK
23 Aug – Reading Festival, Reading, UK
24 Aug – Leeds Festival, Leeds, UK
29 Aug – Rock N Roll Circus, Sheffield (w/ Richard Hawley)
31 Aug – End Of The Road Festival, Dorset, UK
30 Nov – O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London, UK
BIG SPECIAL – POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES tracklisting
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!
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My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
