Big Special have returned with their new single ‘Plaintive Native’, a fierce and introspective track that captures the tension between moral conviction and despair.
It arrives following the surprise release of their second album National Average. earlier this year via SO Recordings and precedes an extensive run of tour dates across Europe, North America and the UK.
Frontman Joe Hicklin describes the song as “about political turmoil clouding the minds of the nation that turns moral conviction into apathy. It’s about worry for the future and a lack of hope. It’s the confusion of trying to be good when everything is so bad and not knowing how to navigate and trust all the wagging fingers and waving fists.”
‘Plaintive Native’ expands on the themes that have come to define Big Special’s work: social frustration, self-doubt, and a sharp-eyed empathy for ordinary life. It’s thunderous yet reflective, carrying the same pulse that made their debut Postindustrial Hometown Blues one of last year’s most acclaimed records.
In the two years since their first London headline show at Camden’s Dublin Castle, the Walsall duo – Hicklin and drummer Callum Moloney – have risen with remarkable speed. By this summer they were headlining Kentish Town’s O2 Forum and touring internationally, buoyed by a reputation for visceral, poetic live performances. National Average. reflects that journey: a record about ambition, change, and the strange melancholy that can come with success.
Critics have praised the band’s ability to fuse humour and heaviness without losing sincerity. Their songs occupy a rare space in British rock, where spoken-word ferocity meets industrial power and emotional candour. As Hicklin puts it, “Mental health isn’t situational. You can be living the dream, and still be depressed along the way.”
Big Special tour Europe this autumn, with sold-out shows in Berlin, Paris and Cologne, before joining Public Service Broadcasting in the US and Canada. Their headline UK and Ireland tour begins in February, including stops in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and a closing show at London’s Roundhouse on 27th February.
‘Plaintive Native’ is out now via SO Recordings.
