EP REVIEW: O’Joy! – Big Special
West Midlands duo, BIG SPECIAL are back with a special release, O’Joy!. An EP that is put together of all the parts that didn’t quite make the cut from their first two albums, reworked, for O’Joy!. It’s a reflection and a victory lap on all that has come before it and where the duo are currently at. The songs may seem like a downer but there is something positive to be had that the duo has found a way to channel their disappointment and disenfranchisement of the current wellbeing of the UK that can be put to song for others to help channel their own feelings towards it.
After an opening piece that sees us greeted with computerised voices, we launch into Plaintive Native. An industrial sounding track that is seeping in frustration and is a perfect representation of the bands roots of being in the West Midlands which back in its heyday was a monster of the industrial revolution. The midland drawl shines through with a funky beat and bassline to boot as it creates a perfect blend of post-punk and electronic music. Following on is Only Free When Sleeping, a damning look at the world where there is very little respite from all the grim news apart from, well, when we’re asleep. Again, the beat of the song is its driving force, along with the snarling almost spoken word lyrics of Joe Hicklin, creating almost a hip-hop beat alongside some discordant and echoey saxophone. Third track, Lazarus shakes proceedings up a bit. This time there is no hip-hop but a sort of cowboy-esque guitar which shouldn’t work, yet somehow, BIG SPECIAL makes this work. You can easily see this working alongside a film focusing on working class struggles by Mike Leigh or Ken Loach.
The Wake is a funny, yet haunting track. It’s the shortest song on O’Joy! yet it leaves one of the biggest marks. A low, foreboding synth provides the backdrop to Hicklin’s lamenting lyrics and you do actually get the feeling you’re genuinely at a wake. You can see it as a wake for the UK itself as it gives off an interpretation that the UK has gone and we’re in limbo of what to do next, which is a feeling you do get at a wake of when you’re trying to decide when would be acceptable to leave and make your own way. Family Bones is an interesting track that feels like a latter day IDLES track, it does not match up to the quality of what lay before it as the depressing nature of the EP begins to take its toll on you, you’d be forgiven for skipping if you feel the same way. Garden Of Fools is another song that is one of the more interesting tracks on the EP. A low foreboding synth seeps in once again and Hicklin provides a wonderful performance which does give off the impression of an Irish folk song. As the song progresses, we are introduced to a couple more interesting sounding instruments including whistles and eventually bagpipes. This track is an EP highlight as it laments the struggles of the working class and how ancestors had to down tools and abandon their own countries such as Ireland in search of a better life, it’s a genuinely moving and haunting piece of music.
Sluglife continues the interesting streak as it brings in a sort of tango beat with a great sounding acoustic guitar that pings out some tight melodies that somehow goes perfectly along with Hicklin’s vocals, which are once again on point and sounding terrific. The song’s progression eventually sees the acoustic guitar evolving into what sounds like a double bass, proving BIG SPECIAL as a versatile force that isn’t afraid to switch things up at a moments notice as it turns its head towards a western sounding piece of music. You could bask in it for hours on end and find different aspects each time. Penultimate track, Dragged Up A Hill (and thrown down the other side) is another moving piece as it details the frustration of the repetitive nature of life and the sickening realisation of trying your hardest and being stuck back at the start again. Hicklin’s haunting and lamentful vocals beg for that turning point that sometimes feels like it is never coming but there is a lingering hope that you hold onto throughout. It’s emotional, raw and easily the stand out of O’Joy!. Final track Hotel, is an upbeat track to end on, and it is much needed after the emotional battering. The track itself is about picking yourself up and leaving the relics of the past behind and looking forward. It’s another moving piece of music that this time brings tears to your eyes in a positive manner rather than a dour ending which you’d be forgiven for expecting after listening to O’Joy!.
At the end of the day, O’Joy! isn’t a fun listen, but a necessary one. Sometimes the escapism of music hides us away from the world, but sometimes we can’t do that. O’Joy! takes you by the end and talks straight to which does take its toll on you. But BIG SPECIAL has this excellent way of telling us that even when all hope seems to be gone, we just have to keep going and eventually it does get better. We all need those people in our life to make us see straight, and BIG SPECIAL are here to do just that. Pass on the message to others and life can be much better than what it currently is.
Rating: 8/10
O’ Joy! is out now via SO Recordings.
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