{"title":"Big Special","description":"\u003cp class=\"rs-article__excerpt\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eOne of the great post-COVID breakout bands, Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney’s \u003cem data-start=\"189\" data-end=\"202\"\u003eBig Special\u003c\/em\u003e is a must-listen for fans of great British rock, blending punk energy with bruising, spoken-sung vocals that both entertain and provoke.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"postindustrial-hometown-blues","title":"Postindustrial Hometown Blues","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlbums of the Year 2024 - Number 12\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBig tip for 2024 from Rough Trade Shops. Words are not to be taken for granted. Especially when they’re being bellowed, full blast, by a broad-shouldered poet with the brimstone fire of a preacher and the honesty and wisdom of a layman, over ground-shaking live beats and between anthemic blasts of melody and rousing riffage. Words matter. History matters. People matter. And Big Special matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor Big Special - Joe Hicklin (vocals) and Callum Moloney (drums) - their sound is one that comes from vital, frustrated young working-class voices that don’t always get heard on the scale they should do. It’s a frustration that comes to the fore through a voice that is at times coarse and raw, but sensitive, desperate and soulful at others. Hicklin's brimstone-fired voice marches from guttural punk barks and serrated spoken word to soaring soul and back again, arriving siphoned from their forebears, crushed under the weight of history, and retooled for a new generation. It’s wrought, raw and angry at a world lacking options, the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England, exasperation at repeating cycles, and the feeling that you’re watching your own life unfold from the outside.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese are songs that channel that voice you hear when you look in the mirror and see your true self – fight songs for a world gone wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"So Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Red LP | Signed Copy | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50444446859595,"sku":"2179102","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50855607566667,"sku":"2228083","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50444445286731,"sku":"2179099","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"White LP","offer_id":50444446171467,"sku":"2179101","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50444441256267,"sku":"2179100","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/BIG_SPECIAL_-_POSTINDUSTRIAL_HOMETOWN_BLUES_packshot__fb8fa4ad_thumbnail_409.jpg?v=1727027650"},{"product_id":"national-average","title":"National Average","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.roughtrade.com\/browse\/albums-of-the-year-2025\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlbums of the Year 2025: #85\n\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe journey \u003cstrong\u003eBig Special\u003c\/strong\u003e have been on is one of the key stories told by their second album, \u003cem\u003eNational Average\u003c\/em\u003e. Trust \u003cstrong\u003eBig Special\u003c\/strong\u003e to invest those stories with wisdom, insight, and the most absolute humanity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThese might be their stories, but the lessons speak to us all. So \u003cem\u003eNational Average\u003c\/em\u003e reflects the world as it is, as \u003cstrong\u003eBig Special\u003c\/strong\u003e have seen it while grinding around the nation and screaming their poetry at the people.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe album also registers how their own lives, their own world has changed, and what that means. With characteristic \u003cstrong\u003eBig Special\u003c\/strong\u003e flair, the darkness is leavened by more than a ladle-full of the blackest humor. But the upbeats are easily matched by the album’s downbeats, the album’s emotional shifts more crafted than on the debut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"The first half of the album is about ambition – you can hear the confidence of it, even a little bit of sleaze,\"\u003c\/em\u003e says Hicklin. \u003cem\u003e\"The second half is about reflecting on what’s happened, how everything’s changed. You’ve got to be honest with the darkness.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Personal World Record","offers":[{"title":"LP - Colour in Colour White on Transparent Clear \/ Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":52521673228619,"sku":"R3584-1275","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - White","offer_id":52521673195851,"sku":"R3584-6253","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":52521673163083,"sku":"R3584-4639","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52535649272139,"sku":"R3584-3757","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/BIGSPECIAL-NATIONALAVERAGE.-SOAKLP610-Packshot_1.jpg?v=1750951038"},{"product_id":"ojoy","title":"O'Joy!","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBig Special Announce New EP Featuring Reworked Material from Previous Albums\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBig Special unveil their brand new EP, a collection of reworked tracks that previously didn’t find their place on the band’s earlier releases, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePostindustrial Hometown Blues\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNational Average\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Whether due to tonal differences or time constraints, these songs now emerge in a cohesive project of their own.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe EP brings together a selection of standout tracks, including recent singles \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘SLUGLIFE’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘DRAGGED UP A HILL (and thrown down the other side)’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, alongside the latest release, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e‘ONLY FREE WHEN SLEEPING’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Each track has been given new space to breathe, showcasing a different side of the band’s evolving sound.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"So Recordings","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":57031121633611,"sku":"R5651-8088","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":57031121666379,"sku":"R5651-7734","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/vinyl-cover.webp?v=1776178650"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/BigSpecial_Poster.png?v=1751550740","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/big-special.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}