Party Dozen – Ghost Rider
Australian duo Party Dozen return with “Ghost Rider”, following last month’s “Mad Rooter” with something even more intense. Kirsty Tickle on overdriven sax and Jonathan Boulet on drums and electronics keep their minimal setup, the same approach that’s produced four albums between 2017 and 2024.
“Ghost Rider” opens with a searing synth melody while Tickle’s vocals sound like they’re being recorded in the deepest cellar of a psychiatric institution. That melody runs through the track like a demolition hammer, relentless and unforgiving. Tickle screams with tons of reverb, creating a layered effect that makes it sound like multiple voices at the microphone.
After a minute and a half, Boulet’s drums come in and destroy everything. The synth melody keeps drifting while Tickle keeps shouting from those depths, and then past the three-minute mark, the saxophone arrives completely packed with distortion. It tears through the mix like a horn from hell, bringing an industrial, almost mechanical feel. You think of factory assembly lines, pounding machines, hissing steam. The sax becomes a drill piercing the track from top to bottom.
The rhythm gives no respite. It pounds, rolls, shakes. And then suddenly it’s over, done, finished. The track gallops and roars like you’ve jammed your foot in the door of a car spinning out of control. Raw, dirty, urgent.
