Party Dozen return with the fired-up Special Unit

Australian sax-and-drums duo Party Dozen have shared Special Unit, another blast of their chaotic, high-pressure rock and noise energy. The track is a useful 20 May digest item because Party Dozen are one of those bands who make the word duo feel misleading. Their setup may be minimal, but the sound is enormous: saxophone, drums, effects, distortion, bodily force and a sense that the whole thing could veer off the road at any second.

Stereogum describes Special Unit as a charged-up garage rock attack, and that phrasing fits a band that often sounds less like traditional rock and more like an alarm system discovering groove. The video adds a ridiculous visual hook, with the band members appearing as cops armed with bananas instead of guns. That combination of aggression and absurdity is exactly where Party Dozen thrive.

The track also arrives as they prepare to tour North America, including support dates with Amyl and the Sniffers as well as their own shows in Kingston, New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles and other cities.

For indie and alternative readers, Party Dozen are worth highlighting because they bring a more physical, unruly energy to the release slate. They are not polished, polite or interested in soft-focus mood. They sound like a small machine designed to break a larger machine.