POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES

Description

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. 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. 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. These 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. TRACKLIST: A1. BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC A2. I MOCK JOGGERS A3. DESPERATE BREAKFAST A4. SHITHOUSE A5. THIS HERE AIN’T WATER A6. MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT) A7. BLACK DOG
WHITE HORSE B1. BROADCAST: TIME AWAY B2. iLL. B3. MONGREL B4. BUTCHER’S BIN B5. DUST OFF
START AGAIN B6. TREES B7. FOR THE BIRDS B8. DiG! QUOTES: "A brilliant new voice in British punk." - The Telegraph "A ferocious takedown of the political failings that have left young people behind." - The Telegraph "The record is trailed by powerful, caustic new single ‘DUST OFF
START AGAIN’, with lyrics that criss-cross between personal trauma, the ongoing housing crisis, and the general feeling that authorities simply do not care about our everyday issues." - CLASH "Singer Joe Hicklin and drummer Callum Moloney are raising a scalpel to the tumultuous times we’re living in and dissecting them in forensic detail." - Rolling Stone UK, Ones To Watch 2024 "Pounding synths combined with more soulful moments help Hicklin’s state-of-the-nation lyrics hit home. In 2024, expect them to resonate even more with the UK’s tired and weary population." - Rolling Stone UK, Ones To Watch 2024 "They're not the sort of act you forget in a hurry" - Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music “Music that stands it’s ground and looks you right in the eye” - Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music "The Black Country Rises Again" - Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music "These two men make an amazing noise." - Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Music "Fantastic poetry, powerful songwriting and a texture of sound you’re just not going to hear any place else." - Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Music