Party Dozen New Single “Special Unit”
Sydney duo Party Dozen return with new single and music video, ‘Special Unit’. Written, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered, shot by and starring the band themselves, the track packs a lot into its 2 mins and 39 seconds. Less is more. More volume. More energy. In a three week period that will see Party Dozen play Sydney Opera House (for Vivid Festival) this Monday 25th May, and Red Rocks (as part of a full US tour with Amyl & The Sniffers), ‘Special Unit’ is “a huge noise for the huge rooms.” The group will warm up with an already sold-out Tote Hotel show in Naarm/Melbourne on Thursday 21st May.
Speaking on the new single, Party Dozen share; “You have the right to remain stupid. Anything you say or do will be laughable. If you cannot afford common sense, a version of it will be provided for you. You have minimal training and exhibit zero qualities that qualify you for the authority bestowed upon you. So here’s your gun, and your uniform. Have fun out there and welcome to SPECIAL UNIT.”
These words serve as an introduction to the track’s video, which allows us to spend an evening in the company of the Party Dozen Special Unit. As in the award-winning clip for Crime In Australia’s ‘Coup De Gronk’, which was declared Best Video at SXSW Sydney 2025, Kirsty and Jono are a duo inflicting terror upon the people of Sydney, but this time (arguably?) from a different side of the law, and in an altogether less calculated and more chaotic way.
2025 was nothing minor for Party Dozen. The year featured a US tour with Lambrini Girls and a headline tour across mainland Europe, a quick jaunt back to the UK for Pitchfork Fest, a week in NZ and some last Aussie shows with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, rounding off their busiest year yet. November also saw the release of ‘Mad Rooter’ / ‘Ghost Rider‘, a 7” that signalled the beginning of a new relationship with European label City Slang (Caribou, Lambrini Girls, Jessica Pratt). ‘Mad Rooter’ and ‘Special Unit’ are the first tastes of PD’s fifth album, which will see the light of day later this year..
Party Dozen are Kirsty Tickle (saxophone) and Jonathan Boulet (percussion and sampler), a semi-improvised psych noise band from Sydney. Over the course of four albums they have gone from underground Sydney punks to globetrotting Sydney punks, featuring on festival bills across multiple continents and having guests such as Nick Cave to billy woods feature on their tracks.
Party Dozen 2026 Live Dates:
Thursday 21 May – The Tote, Melbourne, AU
Monday 25th May – Vivd, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, AU [tickets]
Thursday 4th June – RBC Amphitheatre, Toronto, CA*
Friday 5th June – Place Bell, Montreal, CA *
Saturday 6th June – Tubbys, Kingston, CA
Sunday 7th June – TV Eye, New York, USA
Monday 8th June – Skyline Stage at the Mann, Philadelphia, USA *
Tuesday 9th June – MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, USA *
Wednesday 10th June – The Anthem, Washington, USA *
Friday 12th June – The Factory, St Louis, USA *
Saturday 13th June – Cactus Club, Milwaukee, USA
Sunday 14th June – The Salt Shed, Chicago, USA *
Tuesday 16th June – Astro Theatre, Omaha, USA *
Wednesday 17th June – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, USA *
Saturday 20th June – Surly Brewing Festival Field, Minneapolis, USA *
Monday 22nd June – Zebulon, Los Angeles, USA
Saturday 11th July – Beers & BBQ Festival, Adelaide, AU
* with Amyl & The Sniffers
About Party Dozen:
Party Dozen are Kirsty Tickle (saxophone) and Jonathan Boulet (percussion and sampler), a semi-improvised psych noise band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in 2017, the duo released two albums on their own GRUPO record label before signing an international deal with TEMPORARY RESIDENCE LIMITED (Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, MONO, <BEAK).
The Real Work came out in 2022 and was widely celebrated, becoming Album Of The Week at Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan and Bandcamp. It was a finalist for the Australian Music Prize and the Sydney Music And Creative Awards Best Album, notably containing the single ‘Macca The Mutt’, featuring vocals from Nick Cave.
2022 also saw the release of ‘Fat Hans Gone Mad’ for SUB POP’s legendary 7” Singles Club; making PD only the fourth Australian band to feature in the series’ 30 year history.
The release of The Real Work was promoted with their first overseas trips; twice to Europe where they toured with Tropical Fuck Storm and performed at All Points East, End Of The Road, Manchester Psych Fest and others; a North American debut tour with Algiers (including an incredible live session for KEXP) and trips to Japan, China and New Zealand.
Fourth album Crime In Australia was released in 2024, again via GRUPO and Temporary Residence. The release was supported by some incredible gigs, amongst them a bunch of huge European shows with Australian legends Amyl & The Sniffers and a Saturday night primetime after dark slot at Meredith, which felt like a real arrival.
Amongst the accolades, Crime In Australia was awarded Feature Album status at an incredible EIGHT Australian community stations (RRR, PBS, Fbi, 2SER, ZZZ, RTR, The Edge and 3D). It also charted at an impressive #7 in the Australian Album Charts, a great result considering they didn’t indulge in any of the, ahem, tactics commonly used to secure such a spot.
‘Coup De Gronk’ followed ‘Macca The Mutt’ in being nominated for Best Video at the J Awards. The second time in three years in which Party Dozen received a J Award nomination for a track JJJ never played!
Party Dozen have been fortunate enough to be invited to collaborate with some iconic Australian institutions. During lockdown, they shot a performance of the epic ‘Play The Truth’ at Sydney Opera House, captured by Sydney film-makers and regular creative foils VERSUS. They then became the first band to shoot at Phoenix Central Park, recording both the single ‘The Worker’ and its spectacular accompanying video in the Sydney gallery. They also stretched their artistic chops composing and performing live backing for award-winning choreographer and dancer Brianna Kell in a performance called The Other Side in Western Sydney’s Campbelltown Arts Centre.
Aside from their most well-known collaboration (Nick Cave), Party Dozen have also worked with acclaimed US rapper billy woods who performed on a new version of The Real Work track ‘Earthly Times’ and have had their tracks remixed by Mogwai, Harvey Sutherland and Peaking Lights.
