Big Special have shared their powerful new single ‘SLUGLIFE’ – check it out below.
The Black Country punk duo’s new track continues their prolific current form after releasing their surprise album ‘National Average‘ last year.
It sees frontman Joe Hicklin at his most unfiltered as he explains that the song is “about living low to the ground and going slow. Feeling guilt for needing a bit of time to pull yourself up by your boot straps. It’s about working through the self hate that can come through hard times”.
It follows their previous singles ‘PLAINTIVE NATIVE‘, ‘DRAGGED UP A HILL (And Thrown Down The Other Side)’ and their recent collaboration with Sleaford Mods, ‘The Good Life‘, featuring Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie.
Speaking about the collaboration to NME recently, Sleafords frontman Jason Williamson said: “Joe and Cal [Maloney] came on tour with us in 2023, just before they released their debut album [‘Post Industrial Hometown Blues‘].
“They sent me a copy of it and I just loved the ‘Black Dog/White Horse’ single. Andrew sent me the loop for ‘The Good Life’ in Australia at the end of 2022, I wrote something immediately, and after a while I realised I couldn’t cut the chorus. This is where guests come in. If I can’t do something, I’m going to find someone that can.”
“I just popped the question to them and they recorded it with us around the beginning of 2024,” he added.
“The idea with Gwendoline was to bring her in and for her to be my inner voice. Along the same lines, the Big Special are coming in with a chorus that says, ‘I’m happy, the good life is where I should be and I don’t feel guilty about that’.”
Big Special are due to tour ‘National Average’ on their headline 2026 UK run starting next month which includes their biggest ever headline show at London’s Roundhouse.
GANS, Liz Lawrence and Good Health Good Wealth will support the band on the UK shows – you can purchase any remaining tickets here and see all tour dates here.