NATIONAL AVERAGE.
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BIG SPECIAL – NATIONAL AVERAGE. – ALBUM REVIEW
Last year BIG SPECIAL, the Black Country duo of Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney, arrived in style with an incredible opening offering. Their debut album, ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’, rightly earned high praise from fans and critics alike – including us!
With tour dates and festival appearances still in the diary, not many were expecting a follow-up any time soon. But this week the band surprised everyone when they simply dropped their sophomore collection without any of the now standardised build-up! A brave move indeed, but hey, if Taylor Swift can do it then why not?
That new album, ‘NATIONAL AVERAGE.’ picks up where its predecessor left off with that ominous soulful punk sound accompanying the scathing poetry of opening track ‘THE MESS.’.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘GOD SAVE THE PONY.’
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The following twelve tracks all follow that same pathway and are driven by the direct social commentary of the lyrics and that sonic rumble that gained the duo their plaudits in the first place.
The fact that this album follows so closely musically to their debut album is probably to be expected given the quick turnaround. Even then though you can sense elements of evolution in the sound of this album. Some though may argue not enough, but ultimately these songs will do a great job expanding their repertoire for those upcoming shows and at this point of their career that’s actually the most important thing.
Further growth can and will likely come in the future, but for now let’s all just enjoy another heavy dose of the frank BIG SPECIAL fever dream. ‘NATIONAL AVERAGE.’ after all will only solidify their place in the busy landscape of the industry.
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