INTERVIEW W/ BIG SPECIAL: "The songs are gonna keep growing!"
- Michaela Roper
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
BIG SPECIAL’s sophomore long-play ‘NATIONAL AVERAGE’ arrived completely unannounced last year, infused with true Black Country grit and an array of sharply-produced electronic instrumentals, in a brain-challenging, hypnotic commentary on the darkness of the modern age. Any album released out of the blue, purely under the guise of a pixelated projected picture of egg and chips, is destined to turn heads, that’s without question. The blueprint that offered up the formula for their debut release ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ has been manipulated into wavy lines carrying funky bass rhythms, sleazy keyboard drives, and chuckle-worthy digs lyrical from frontman Joe Hicklin. In classic BIG SPECIAL fashion, the record is punchy, in-your-face, and laden with spoken word that plants thoughtful seeds.
As soon as the it landed we knew it’d be one of our favourite records of the year so we caught up with drummer Callum Moloney to chat all about this unexpected second album...
Q. Why did you decide to drop your second album 'NATIONAL AVERAGE' completely by surprise?
A. “We had just done a long build up to the first album, which we had written across the previous 4 years. I think more than anything we were just excited to get writing again, and wanted to stay as current to our feelings and perspective as possible. It’s an album about change, so we wanted to make sure it was out during this period of change in our lives”.
Q. What do you feel you learned from the process of writing, recording and releasing your debut record and how did you take those learnings into this second album campaign?
A. “The first album we had no idea what BIG SPECIAL was or what it sounded like. After 2 years of intense touring, we came into writing this second album knowing exactly what we sound like and what we wanted to do. A big lesson we now know is that the songs will change 1000 more times over the years, and to just get the raw honest representation of the song on the record. As long as it represents what we felt at the time, we’re happy. The songs are gonna keep on growing”.
Q. Do you feel the lasting feeling and emotive effect of this record differs from your debut?
A. “Album one was mostly about hope. We didn’t know what we were about to experience. "Living the dream" etc. this second album still has that hope, but now we know that life isn’t perfect even when you have the perfect dream job, I think there’s more of a snark to it”.
Q. Which track from the album would you say captures the spirit of the album the best lyrically?
A. “We usually try to sum up the album in our closing songs, so for that reason "THIN HORSES”.
Q. Which track from the album has been the most fun to play live so far and has it surprised which tracks have got the best crowd response?
A. “Probably professionals or shop music. Both of those songs we love, and they have such a bouncy feel the crowd always seem to erupt”.
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