A little punk, a little blues, and a lot of passion make up BIG SPECIAL’s unique and captivating sound. Described as “fight songs for a world gone wrong,” this UK duo’s debut album, POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES, blasts massive beats and fiery lyrics with themes of depression—both personal and societal. With catchy, bombastic songs and an attitude to match, BIG SPECIAL is truly something worth paying attention to.
INFLUENCES
MCFLURRY: “Sleaford Mods“
It’s just a ridiculous banger. We got the chance to support them late in 2023 and live it’s even better. A tune that opened up a lot for us when it comes to taste and attitude.
THE STREETS: “Turn the Page“
One of Cals favorite album openers. It’s a perfect collision of nostalgia and euphoric strings that still gives me goosebumps to this day.
JOHN GRANT: “Is He Strange“
An all timer for Joe. A beautiful ode to individualities, and a comfort to those living differently than expected. And a synth solo that sounds like a movie.
BILLY WOODS: “Checkpoints“
This song has the maddest drum/chicken/baby sound, still gets us how it sounds good! And woods is the top lyricist in the world, it’s hard to understand exactly what they mean, but you don’t need to know, the feeling seeps through in gallons. Like looking at an abstractly painting.
KATE BUSH: “Running Up That Hill“
This one maybe hasn’t directly influenced our sound, but we both agree it’s probably one of the top 3 best songs ever written. We badly wanted to cover it when we started the band, but then Stranger Things came out and every man and his dog covered it. Still Gutted.
ESSENTIALS
“SHITHOUSE“
This has become a bit of a cult classic amongst our fans. It’s strange a song about a mental breakdown can bring people so much joy? Performing it live feels like we just set a firework off in a petrol station.
“THIS HERE AINT WATER“
Probably our most anthemic song, and the first song that we heard our own lyrics screamed right back at us by a crowd. Also our biggest song, so we’d probably get mobbed if we didn’t play it live. (Can three people be a mob?)
“TREES“
One of our favourites to perform live. Cal gets a chance to come out from behind the drum kit and we get to cosplay as a hip hop duo for 3 minutes. When the ending kicks in the crowd usually looses their minds as well which is always a beautiful thing to witness.
“BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE“
This is a real stand out track from the album. It breaks away from the other tracks and leans into our more bluesy/ soulful side which I think a lot of audiences aren’t expecting after such a high octane set up to this point.
“DIG“
The grande finale. The end credits. The final blow. Please grab yourself a pack of tissues and make your way to the lobby. Shows over. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.
