Bone-crunching riffs, complementary synths, thudding drums and dry wit have been poured into BIG SPECIAL’s 15-track debut album, ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’.

If you’re into IDLES, you’ll certainly enjoy the vocal style of Joe Hicklin, who makes up one half of the duo, alongside drummer Callum Moloney. They’re currently touring, with a handful of festivals they’re scheduled to play this summer, and they’ve recently supported Placebo. As though those weren’t credentials enough, BIG SPECIAL have the backing of BBC Radio 6, as well as various print publications, including Rolling Stone UK, DIY and Dork. So now’s the time to hop aboard the train.

Depicting the mood of the nation and throwing a lyrical spanner in the political works by voicing the opinions of the disgruntled and disillusioned, this new British punk pairing is one to keep tabs on. Upon first eyeball of the tracklisting, you’ll recognise ‘BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE’ and ‘DUST OFF / START AGAIN’ from their single campaigns leading up to the record. But there’s so much more in store.

Tweeting birds open the punchy ‘BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC’, where it all begins. This number has a really playful, catchy indie hook, alongside experimental synth noises and choral male vocals that build it in. Next up is a track with a quirky offbeat titled ‘I MOCK JOGGERS’. The first verse gives away that it’s all about heckling runners, rather than taking the mick out of tracksuits (something I misinterpreted and could’ve got on board with). But the chatty, skittish, monologue-style words to this tune are humorously frank, so it’s one you’ll return to. “Hang me on the edge and call me Cliff”? Yeah, you can tell they’ve had fun here.

The album is a musically dynamic collection; you’ll find an uptempo funkiness to ‘DESPERATE BREAKFAST’, then more electronic vibes on ‘SHITHOUSE’, ‘MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT)’ and ‘BUTCHER’S BIN’. For soft keys and shrieking vocals, get spinning the jazzy ‘THIS HERE AIN’T WATER’. As time goes on, you’ll detect a gentler, somewhat plodding pace to the closing pieces. A slightly more wistful, reflective melody underpins ‘TREES’, but things become delicate still; there’s some real piano intricacy to poem-esque ‘FOR THE BIRDS’, which transcends into the finale, ‘DiG!’. This round-off serves a progressive, transformative end to an album that commands with its ebbs and flows. Amid the anarchic themes, you get the run-of-the-mill daily-grind stuff, too, all while these guys have pushed the boundaries instrumentally.

If you only download one track, let it be: ‘BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC’

With thanks to Chuff Media for the advanced stream access to the album.