BIG SPECIAL

[ ALTERNATIVE ][ POST-PUNK ][ SPOKEN WORD ][ UK ]

BIG SPECIAL are a Black Country duo — Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney — making bruising, soulful alternative music that can move from spoken word and post-punk to something surprisingly tender. Built on driving drums and Hicklin's half-sung, half-spoken delivery, their music carries both weight and vulnerability, pulling from personal struggle and the realities of post-industrial Britain.

After seeing them at SXSW in 2025 they have stayed with me. The energy is real and Joe Hicklin's writing cuts through. It feels lived in, not put on.

“Only Free When Sleeping” was released in 2026 and also appears on the O'JOY! EP.