To release a new album as a surprise remains a bold strategy; to tease one by projecting its egg and chips cover onto London Bridge and Buckingham Palace ups the ante further. But, then, Big Special are a bold band.
The Black Country duo established themselves as extraordinary punk poets and ruthless commentators on the state of the nation on last year’s debut ‘Postindustrial Hometown Blues’, and it’s a pleasure to see they’ve lost none of their seething wit amid the success that record brought their way. Indeed, ‘National Average’ is razor-sharp when it comes to the band’s shifting circumstances.
While their debut was steeped in desperation and turmoil, here Big Special wrestle with the confusion of lives changed by attention and their apparent guilt at experiencing a change in fortunes while the wider world continues to burn.
The Mess opens the shutters to marching drums, droning synths and Joe Hicklin’s deadpan register before unfurling into a raucous mash of gang vocals, jangly guitar lines and thunderous cymbal crashes.
God Save The Pony uses a healthy dose of funk that is at odds with Hicklin’s nihilistic narration: “Is that a dog or a bitch? / It don’t matter mate / It’ll still bite your fucking arm off.” It’s funny and threatening all at once.
They’ve still got time for blistering anger and righteous indignation, though. Shop Music tackles the industry’s assorted machinations in blazing style. “We’re charming / We’re smart / Business minded / No heart,” Hicklin barks before yelling: “We will sell your shit!” Similarly, Yesboss takes aim at the power struggles experienced in minimum wage jobs alongside the heaviest punk guitars in their discography and swirling electronics that are as hypnotic as they are rallying.
There’s a lot of vulnerability on display, too. I Once Had A Kestrel is Hicklin reckoning with the memory of a pet bird that escaped when he was a child, still wearing jesses that could cause her to become trapped all over again in the wild, while the delicate Thin Horses finds Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell adding a fresh layer to Big Special’s sound.
What makes Big Special so, well, special is their directness. With so much turmoil in the world, it’s nice to have something immediately relatable; to realise we’re all on this sinking ship together. Sure, it’s a gloomy outlook, but there’s comfort in that darkness.
Big Special Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon July 14 2025 - BRIGHTON Resident Records
Tue July 15 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Rough Trade
Wed July 16 2025 - LIVERPOOL Rough Trade
Fri February 13 2026 - NORWICH Waterfront
Sat February 14 2026 - NOTTINGHAM Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sun February 15 2026 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Digital
Wed February 18 2026 - LEEDS Stylus Nightclub
Thu February 19 2026 - GLASGOW SWG3
Fri February 20 2026 - MANCHESTER New Century Hall
Sat February 21 2026 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
Tue February 24 2026 - BRISTOL Electric Bristol
Wed February 25 2026 - SOUTHAMPTON 1865
Fri February 27 2026 - LONDON Roundhouse
Fri March 06 2026 - DUBLIN Workmans Club
Sat March 07 2026 - BELFAST Ulster Sports Club
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