BIG SPECIAL

Big Special are a duo from England's Black Country, made up of Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney. Their sound sits between punk, spoken word, and soul — raw, direct, and grounded in working-class life. 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. Confrontational at times, then suddenly reflective, always human, always close to the surface.

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.