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BIG SPECIAL
announce debut
Australian Tour with
RADIO FREE ALICE & SEX MASK
Playing Melbourne, Sydney
& Brisbane this November
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“A vital, gripping debut album” – Clash ★★★★
“A dizzying mix of hard and delicate” – DIY ★★★★½
“a real piece of art; sheer brilliance from start to finish” – Dork ★★★★★
“an album that is distinctively mystical, and ageless, comfortably propelling itself between soul, hip hop, and rock” – The Line of Best Fit ★★★★½
Album of The Week – Louder Than War ★★★★★
“a heady dose of heart and reality” – NME ★★★★
“a cocktail of barbed post-punk and ferociously soulful crooning” – Notion
“a stellar debut with enough conviction to keep us all dancing through the darkness.” – Rolling Stone UK
“One of the most exciting bands in Britain” – The Telegraph
“A highly engaging, emotionally rich debut” – Uncut ★★★★
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UK duo BIG SPECIAL announces their first Australian shows, playing Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, joined by RADIO FREE ALICE and Sex Mask. Having released their debut album POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES, earlier this year, BIG SPECIAL has risen from obscurity to international acclaim, receiving praise from BBC 6 Music, NME, Rolling Stone and Clash. They’ve played Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and toured extensively across the UK, Europe and South America with Placebo, The Pixies, John Grant, and Sleaford Mods.
Playing alongside Naarm/Melbourne new wave/post-punk band RADIO FREE ALICE, who released their second EP Polyester in August, and post-punk/alt-rock group Sex Mask, the lineup showcases an emerging sound that is resonating deeply with audiences across the globe.
For 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. The duo has developed a sound like no other, drawing disparate influences like Sleaford Mods’ bleakly hilarious bark, the intense power of Tom Waits-esque gospel, the healing power of soul and the electric charge of rock into something new. Something ecstatic, painful, truthful and real.
Hicklin describes POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES as “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. 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.”
Standout single, ‘BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE‘ showcases BIG SPECIAL at their most brooding and contemplative, walking a tightrope of deliberation as lead singer Joe Hicklin brings his stirring vocals to a song that charts the path from fear to salvation. He explains, “It comes from a thing I wrote years ago, about a burning snake travelling in the hot sun and a small wren flying high above it to block the heat and give it shade, taking the burden of the sun, because the little bird loves the snake and won’t see it defeated, for whatever reason.”
An early demo for the single ‘THIS HERE AIN’T WATER’ was what convinced drummer Moloney to join the band, similarly exploring themes of mental health, addiction and the media’s criticism of the working class. Hicklin says, “It’s thinking about how everything’s shit, and using that to egg yourself on.”
The upcoming November shows provide east-coast audiences the chance to experience the wonder of BIG SPECIAL‘s biting spoken word, striking soulful vocals, and hulking guitars – your first and only chance to see them in rooms this size.
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BIG SPECIAL
WITH RADIO FREE ALICE & SEX MASK
Thursday 28 November – The Brightside, Brisbane
Friday 29 November – Mary’s Underground, Sydney
Saturday 30 November – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Tickets on sale at bigspecial.co.uk 5 pm AEST Monday, 23 September
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POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES out now
Track List
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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Follow BIG SPECIAL
WEBSITE – INSTAGRAM – FACEBOOK
APPLE MUSIC – SPOTIFY – YOUTUBE
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AMNPLIFY – DB
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