Coming soon
Big Special announce debut album ‘Postindustrial Hometown Blues’
The Black Country duo have also shared a video for their new single ‘DUST OFF / START AGAIN’.
Following on from their whirlwind 2023, DIY Class of 2024 members BIG SPECIAL have confirmed plans to release their debut album, ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’, on 10th May via So Recordings.
The LP will see the pair merge the personal with the political, using their Black Country roots as a lens through which to explore social disjunction and hope against the odds. Speaking about the inspirations behind the work, lead vocalist Joe Hicklin has said: “’POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ is 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.
“The album offers no answers, it is just an honest expression of a working-class experience in modern England through the eyes of ill mental health, a pursuit of art and political disenchantment; a story of rumination, realisation and reaction. ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’ is about learning that we are connected by our common struggles and 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.”
The album announcement follows a string of singles (including ‘DESPERATE BREAKFAST’ and ‘TREES’), and has now been heralded with the release of another - ‘DUST OFF / START AGAIN’, which serves as a rageful rally against the British class system. Watch its video here:
What’s more, the band are gearing up for an extensive run of UK and EU tour dates this Spring, starting with their stint co-headlining DIY’s Now & Next April tour. You can get tickets for the Now & Next dates here, and check out Big Special’s full live schedule below.
APRIL 2024
03 Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach (DIY Now & Next tour)
04 Oxford, Bullingdon (DIY Now & Next tour)
05 Sheffield, Yellow Arch Studio (DIY Now & Next tour)
06 Brighton, Green Door Store (DIY Now & Next tour)
07 Southampton, Joiners (DIY Now & Next tour)
12 Manchester, New Century Hall (supp. Antony Szmierek)
13 London, Lafayette (supp. Antony Szmierek)
MAY 2024
07 Liverpool, District,
08 Leeds, The Key Club
09 Birmingham, XOYO
10 Glasgow, King Tuts
12 Bristol, Strange Brew
16 London, Jazz Café
17 Brighton, Horatio’s (The Great Escape 2024)
18 Manchester, Deaf Institute
20 Limerick, Kasbah Club
21 Dublin, Workman’s Cellar
22 Belfast, Ulster Sports Bar
24 The Hague, Zwarte Ruiter (Sniester Festival)
26 Derbyshire, Bearded Theory Festival
27 Amsterdam, Paradiso Upstairs
28 Eindhoven, Effenaar
30 Paris, Block Party Festival
31 Hulst, Vestrock
JUNE 2024
01 Hellendoorn, Dauwpop Festival
JULY 2024
26 Benidorm, Low Festival
28 Suffolk, Latitude Festival
AUGUST 2024
23 Reading, Reading Festival
24 Leeds, Leeds Festival
More like this

Yard Act are the cover stars of DIY’s June 2026 issue!
Our latest print mag also features chats with Graham Coxon, Death Cab For Cutie, Maisie Peters, BIG SPECIAL and loads more.
10th June 2026

BIG SPECIAL - O’JOY
4 Stars
An EP that explores both the breadth and depth of the Black Country duo’s sonic experimentalism.
5th June 2026

BIG SPECIAL reveal plans for extended EP ‘O’JOY!’
The forthcoming project is a compendium of “the fallen parts” of their first two albums.
15th April 2026

BIG SPECIAL share ode to slowing down, ‘SLUGLIFE’
The pair have described the new single as a song “about working through the self hate that can come through hard times.”
7th January 2026
Featuring Yard Act, Death Cab For Cutie, Graham Coxon, Maisie Peters and more.






