Big Special - O'Joy! EP (SO Recordings) 
Release Date: Out Now
The dynamic duo that is Big Special return with what they're calling an EP but, technically, it's 10 tracks long so can we split the difference and call it a mini album? Let's find out. First up on 'O'Joy!' is '**', a slightly alarming of two AI voices sounding like they've given up on their artificial existence (we can only hope). This is followed by the raw beat and spitting vocals of 'Plaintive Native' with an intensity that builds and broods like a call to arms for a war that is happening inside of us all. 'Only Free When Sleeping' is a shuddering jolt of blues infused rock'n'roll paired with that spoken word which makes Big Special so distinct.
'Lazarus' shuffles and swaggers with the confidence of a crooner who has seen the light and wants to share his new found wisdom with the crowd before the club owner cuts the power. The short, sharp blast of 'The Wake' is the sobering diatribe of a drunk at a funeral and, honestly, by this point I'm ready to vote for Big Special to soundtrack the end of days. 'Family Bones' snakes and weaves, always pulling at the anchor of the bass drone and a beat that sounds like it's being played a kit made out of steel. On 'Garden Of Folls', we are treated to a funereal tone with vocals performing the last rights to a society obsessed with new and now but 'Sluglife' shows glimmers of hope shining out like a coin poking out through the mud.
'Dragged Up A Hill (And Thrown Down The Other Side)' is a sombre ballad of sorts that leads you into the final track, 'Hotel', which straddles the line between the swagger of the Killers and the stadium ready anthems of Sam Fender without even breaking a sweat. Call it a mini-album, call it an EP, call it what you like. Big Special are just brilliant at creating viscerally arresting music combined with lyrics that make your heart swell and your brain tick. Sheer - and I use this word advisedly - genius.
More information: https://www.instagram.com/bigspecial_/
Live Dates:
June 20th: TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
July 13th: James Borrer Tribute Concert, O2 Indigo, London, UK
July 17th: Rock Herk Festival, Herk-de-Stad, Belgium
July 31st: Valley Fest, Chew Magna, Bristol, UK
August 8th: Castelo Rock Festival, Muros, Spain
August 14th: Boomtown Festival, Hampshire, UK
August 22nd: Beautiful Days Festival, Devon, UK
August 30th: Dreamland, Margate, UK (w/ Babyshambles)
September 4th: Moseley Folk Festival, Birmingham, UK
September 20th: Shaky Knees Festival, Atlanta, USA
September 22nd: L'Esco, Montreal, Canada
September 23rd: The Garrison, Toronto, Canada
September 27th: The Vogue, Indianapolis, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
September 28th: Majestic Theatre, Detroit, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
September 29th: Vic Theatre, Chicago, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
October 1st: The Granada, Kansas City, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
October 2nd: Delmar Hall, St. Louis, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
October 4th: Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
October 5th: The Orange Peel, Asheville, USA (supp Lambrini Girls)
October 7th: Pearl Street Warehouse, Washington, DC, USA
October 8th: Baby's All Right, Brooklyn, USA
October 9th: The Rockwell, Boston, USA