Chosen by Monk
This Sydney drum ‘n’ sax punk duo will be committing a sonic #CrimeInAustralia when they release their new album next month. This latest taster sees them demanding our #MoneyAndTheDrugs (not that we have any of either) with a track that is very different from its more melodic predecessor, while simultaneously continuing the album’s lyrical and musical narrative.
We invited one half of the band, percussionist Jonathan Boulet, along to the Club to tell us a bit more about the song:
The first section of this song is inspired by a sound that we heard at the airport pick up zone in Sydney. A small aircraft coming in to land low would project this low bending rumble into the cement car park filling it with resonant frequencies.
‘Money & The Drugs’ features Kirsty [Tickle] really letting it out into her saxophone void. Then it picks up a coupla gears into a rockin’ frenzy. It’s one of our most fun songs to play live. But sometimes too much of a good thing can land you in deep water. Sometimes this song gets away from us.
Boulet explained about the album’s organic thematic development, which influenced by the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, where the band live and their studio is located:
In the 1960s-70s [it] was a notorious crime hot spot. If a car was stolen, or someone was missing, they’d look for them in Marrickville. Since then, the area has been highly gentrified and slowly the once grimy industrial warehouse lined streets are being swapped for monstrous apartment blocks with palm trees.
We began without any theme in mind, just the beginnings of some song ideas. As we were discovering the songs for this album, each song felt more and more at home in an old cop tv series soundtrack. The Crime theme quickly became apparent. The record feels split into two contrasting sides: The first half is ‘order’, being as listenable as Party Dozen has ever been. Each song is law abiding and dignified in its own place. The second half is ‘disorder,’ becoming more unlawful, unhinged, louder and noisier.
- ‘Crime In Australia‘ will be released on 6 September via Temporary Residence Records.
- Party Dozen support Amyl & The Sniffers on their November European tour, with dates in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and France.
- Check out all our Singles Club selections on our dedicated YouTube playlist.
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