You can’t get much more Sydney than Party Dozen.
Across a number of different projects, Kirsty Tickle and Jonathan Boulet have spread their roots far and deep across Sydney’s music scene. But with just a saxophone, drumkit and loop pedal, they’ve built a formidable and unique sonic imprint as Party Dozen. Born foremost of live-tracked improvisation, they funnel punk and avant-garde jazz into a ferocious torrent of noise. Kirsty Tickle’s droning saxophone takes on all the power of a supercharged electric guitar, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone hit the drums as hard as Jonathan Boulet.
What gives Party Dozen their bite is how they channel this energy. Yes, it’s noisy, but it’s punchy, most importantly. Layers of controlled, ear-tickling fuzz makes each drum fill, each accented sax squeal hit with giddily satisfying impact. There’s a sense of fun that runs throughout their music; on Crime In Australia, they bring that cheekiness even further to the front. Subtly-titled, ‘Coup De Gronk’ chugs along like a dusty nu-disco record turbocharged by a six-cylinder engine. The stomping ‘Les Crimes’ is borderline dancefloor material, if it wasn’t so devilishly twisted. Leaning into the exploitation-cinema aesthetic of the record's title and visuals, Tickle’s saxophone dips into noir-y blues, sleazy, late-night wailings and breathlessly ascending, alarm-sounding solos.
Crime In Australia is the sound of a band totally confident in their sound, ready and keen to push it to any new arena. Hell – we even get a Party Dozen song in major key on this record; the swirling, shoegazey ‘The Big Man Upstairs,’ an ode to the trailblazing punk bands who forcefully created culture in reaction to Bjelke-Petersen-led-fascism. One day, no doubt, people will look back on Party Dozen as one of those same cult underground bands; DIY heroes forging their own path, reliably brilliant and loyally respected by those who’ve experienced them. For now though – headbang away.
Words by Lindsay Riley