No Frills Reviews

The Midlands duo deliver a solid sophomore effort but rarely reach the heights of their debut

BIG SPECIAL felt like they arrived fully formed on last year’s excellent POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES (our top album of 2024). A glorious collection of soulful electro-punk, finding cathartic joy from the bleak mundanities of modern Britain, fronted by the powerhouse, poetic preaching of Joe Hicklin. Their follow-up, surprise released just over a year on, feels like a band in transition. To shittily pun on the egg and chips album art, it’s a passable if slightly undercooked offering that probably needed a bit more seasoning.

It’s certainly not a dud as they provide ample reminders of what made them such an exciting prospect in the first place. But, aptly, it’s too often just a bit average. Their debut carried an undercurrent of defiant joy, on NATIONAL AVERAGE they mostly sound weary; the Johnny Rotten-esque snarls registering as more affected than angry. That may well be intentional given the album’s title, but they lose their best moments in the transition; there’s nothing here as emphatic as SHITHOUSE or as euphoric as BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC. They’re caught between refining the formula of their debut, without ever really improving upon it, while hinting at but not quite committing to a new direction.

The tracks that I imagine are most likely to become live favourites, like SHOP MUSIC, PROFESSIONALS, and YESBOSS, are some of the least interesting moments here. They’re borderline bangers, but reduce BIG SPECIAL into the realm of slightly bland, shouty post-punk, albeit with a funky edge. SHOP MUSIC contains some of Hicklin’s best lines as, alongside GOD SAVE THE PONY, he offers satirical reflections on their newfound music industry experiences. While both are perfectly good, they feel out of place on the album. They almost land on an intriguing concept in the contrast between coming-of-age realities, set against a backdrop of becoming relatively late-in-life touring musicians. Instead, the ideas feel scattershot and under-explored; you get the sense that this is a patched together collection of new writing and leftovers.

There’s an unevenness to the album and, despite clocking in a few minutes short of their debut, it runs overlong. The noisier, funkier moments give way to a comparatively subdued final third, running together into a bleak and slightly plodding conclusion. Exemplified on closer, THIN HORSES; the feature from Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell adds a new dimension in the sweet contrast to Hicklin’s gruff vocals, but it falls short as an anthemic finale. It’s a shame because the relative minimalism of the later tracks is where Hicklin’s surrealistic storytelling really shines.

The album’s strongest moments come when they capture and build upon the eclectic weirdness of their debut. Like the menacing opener, THE MESS, where Hicklin is at turns brooding and frenzied over an industrial pulse reminiscent of The White Stripes’ Icky Thump, interspersed with disembodied wails that could have been lifted from Led Zep’s Immigrant Song. Or the soulful synth slow-burner, DOMESTIC BLISS, which teases at a descent into horn-assisted psychedelia. And Hicklin remains a charismatic and powerful presence throughout, setting them apart from many of their contemporaries. Although he’s much better served when he accompanies the kitchen-sink poetics with his disarmingly accomplished crooning, rather than leaning into the angry dad ranting of their Sleaford Mods influence.

For now, BIG SPECIAL don’t quite live up to their potential, but there’s glimpses of a brighter future still to come. NATIONAL AVERAGE is the sound of a band doing enough to get by.

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NATIONAL AVERAGE is available to purchase here.

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