“Write something honest and something that you love.” – An Interview With Big Special
It’s been an incredible rise over the last 2 years for West Country’s Big Special. The duo of Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney only released their first single “Shithouse” (the new National Anthem according to Hicklin) in May 2023 but have built on the acclaim of debut album POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES with a relentless touring schedule. Their Fierce Panda showcase at this year’s SXSW Festival was one of the best gigs I’d been to in a while – so much so that I had to catch their show again the following day at the British Music Embassy.
Recently they surprise-released their follow-up record NATIONAL AVERAGE without the usual marketing campaign or slew of singles that would normally precede it. It arrived after days of the band teasing projections of the album’s artwork (a pixelated plate of egg and chips) across London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and The Tate Modern.
Where their debut record portrayed the struggles of working class life in 21st Century Britain, NATIONAL AVERAGE reflects how their circumstances have changed for the better, both professionally and personally, but there can still be some dark clouds along the way. What hasn’t changed are Hicklin’s razor-sharp lyrics that are laced with dark humour with Moloney’ providing the percussive beats to deliver them . On the funky, semi-autobiographical “God Save The Pony”, Hicklin confesses he’s “barely past minimum wage and I’m a rock’n’roll cliché!” and on “Professionals”, about feeling like an imposter at times, admitting “we use fucks for commas / to make everything sad sound fucking funny / LOL!”. “Pigs Puddin.” may have some of the most surreal lyrics (“Stand at the gate and self-flagellate / You might think, blimey!”) which the band describe as a mental breakdown song. The album closes with “Thin Horses” which also features Rachel Goswell of Slowdive and is about empathy and hope after some of the darkness that precedes it. It’s another incredible record from a band that can seemingly do no wrong right now.
The first half of the album is about ambition – you can hear the confidence of it, even a little bit of sleaze. The second half is about reflecting on what’s happened, how everything’s changed. You’ve got to be honest with the darkness
Joe Hicklin – Big Special
We chatted with Callum about the pressures of following up their debut and their awesome live shows.
IDOV – Hi! How’s everything going right now?
Great thanks. Just got back from Greenman Festival so very hungover, very sunburnt and have no voice left. Feel like I should be hidden in the attic for a few days at least before I’m released into the general population.
What classic album cover art is your current mood?
I’ve been lying on my back staring at the ceiling all day so probably The Smiths – The Queen is Dead.
Congrats on “NATIONAL AVERAGE” – it’s a fantastic record. Did you always plan for the album to be a surprise release?
Not specifically. From early one we realised that this album was coming out of us very quickly and felt like a natural process to write. We were so excited about it, none of us wanted to wait for 6 months to put it out. Also, we wanted it to be consumed as one full piece of art instead of being chopped up too much into singles. Let the audience decide the highs and lows, not steer their expectations at all.
Credit – Kate Atkinson
It continues the feel of “Postindustrial Hometown Blues” but seems a bit funkier and more upbeat. Was that deliberate or did it just happen as you were writing and recording?
In the first week of writing it became obvious that we were both clearly feeling funkier than we had done in the past haha. A whole year and half of none stop touring will do that to you.
Funky and sad is what we keep calling it. We just followed the natural obvious route, and leant into whatever styles came out of us. Both of us really liked that contrast of uptempo, bouncier feeling songs but with a broad melancholy to it. As well as a good dash of daftness we’ve never been able to shake off.
Did you have any trepidations about having to follow your debut that had made such an impact?
Yeah fully. We’ve never had to write a second album before, and never had people have any expectations at all out of us, so we definitely felt the weight of that.
Thing is, you just have to try ignore all of it and write something honest, and something that you love. We would never write anything to try and appease anyone else. Fans, industry heads or critics etc… As an artist all you can do is love and believe in what you create. If the album flopped completely then, it doesn’t matter because we loved it anyway. Any success it gets is a side product, the art always has to be the first thing you care about.
If you could only listen to one record, what would it be?
I couldn’t and wouldn’t. It’s a terrible choice to make, because if you pick something you love, you’re cursed to a world where you listen to it till you hate it and go mad.
I’d choose to just sit in angry silence for the rest of my life rather than do that.
Also… who’s gonna enforce it?? Who’s gonna try stop me listening to other albums??? Would love to see them try police that.
Rachel Goswell (of Slowdive) features on the final track “THIN HORSES”. Were you big shoegaze fans growing up?
Not really to be honest, neither of us were cool enough. It’s only in recent years that we’ve got to know the genre better and really enjoy it.
Rach is married to our manager which is where we originally met her and then learned of her creative brilliance. I’m glad of that because the feature happened naturally as close friends then. Not some soulless business move. The drums off our first album was recorded in a studio owned by Mark from the band RIDE as well, so we’re pretty shoegaze coded as a band.
We caught a couple of your shows at SXSW and they were amazing. Are you ever surprised about the reaction you get outside the UK?
We used to be. The first time we started playing further afield we were always wondering about how different cultures would find it, but those worries are long gone now. We’ve played in India, Thailand, all over Europe in none English speaking countries and the live energy and emotion is what carries it. The lyrics might be in English, but the passion we perform with is universal.
When did the airhorn become part of the live shows?
Hahahahaha. Pretty much from the off. I’m a big UK garage fan, so downloaded a sample pack as a joke at first but immediately fell in love with it. It’s very very very stupid, seems daft out of place, and a lot of people absolutely hate it… but who cares.
Credit – Kate Atkinson
You’ll be back on the road in October touring Europe followed by a UK tour in February. Will you be heading back across the pond for any shows soon?
We just announced a support tour around North America for December so yes. We’re also trying to cram in a handful of headline shows along the route so watch this space.
What would go on your signature pizza and what would it be called?
I’ve always had this mental idea of a pizza with sod all on it. Like… a bit of tomato sauce, a bit of cheese like mozzarella maybe, and then a nice tiny bit of herb to give it a subtle little flavour. Not sure what yet, maybe basil?
I guess I’d then name it after my Italian aunty Margarita.
Apart from the upcoming tours, is there anything else on the horizon we should know about?
More fine music on the horizon. More fun. More joy.
Visit the band’s website to grab tickets to an upcoming show and follow them on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news.
