Kisschasy Are Back On Tour And Talk New Music

Calling all believers, new and old! Iconic Australian rock band Kisschasy proudly announces their Hymns For The New Believers national tour! Starting this June, the band will perform their ARIA Top 5, gold-certified album Hymns For The Nonbeliever in its entirety, celebrating its first-ever vinyl pressing, eighteen years after its 2007 release. Featuring hit singles like Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm at Night and Spray on Pants. Darren Cordeux talks to Hi Fi Way about the tour and new material they have been working on including new single Lie To Me.

Must be a really exciting time now for Kisschasy with a massive tour and talk of new music on the way?
It is! New music wasn’t really on our agenda until the last few months, but things happen when they happen. Now it feels like everything is coming together, we’ve got these shows coming up, and there are a few bucket list items on there, like playing The Forum. So yeah, it’s a really exciting time for the band.

Were you surprised that the momentum has carried on from the shows at Good Things? It feels like ages ago, but really, it wasn’t that long ago.
Yeah, actually, I really am. We called it a day in 2015, and I moved over to Los Angeles, so I hadn’t really been aware of the music climate in Australia. Some bands caught my attention, but I didn’t know how people felt about our band anymore. It wasn’t until Good Things and the follow-up tour in 2023 that I realized there was still a lot of love from the fans. And the chemistry between us as a band felt stronger than ever. The feedback was that we were playing at our best, and I think that helped fuel the momentum. That energy was reciprocated by the audience, and the logical next step was new music when the time was right. And now, here we are.

So what feels different this time?
When we called it a day in 2015, it was because we’d been working really hard for years, since 2002 and touring non-stop. We’d made three records we were proud of, and in 2012, I wrote a fourth album that we sat on for a while. Ultimately, we decided it wasn’t our best work, and we didn’t want to put something out just for the sake of it. We wanted to protect what we’d built, so we walked away before we diluted it.

I think that’s why we were able to come back and still have people care, because we left behind a solid body of work that still resonates. The time away ended up being the best thing for the band. Some bands are good at continuing without breaks, but we needed that step away to come back refreshed. Even though it was a seven-year gap, it gave us a new energy and a realisation that we’re a great rock and roll band. Then when the new songs started coming, it felt right. After Good Things, we decided that if we were going to make new music, it had to be as good, if not better, than what we’d already done. We didn’t want to compromise the legacy. I had to wait for the right songs. I tinkered with ideas, but they weren’t clicking. Then late last year, suddenly, the floodgates broke and the music poured out. That was when I knew, it was time.

Did it take a lot of convincing for you to start thinking about new material? Given that you’re a super talented guy and have been doing other things, did you have to convince yourself that this was the right move for you?
That’s a great question, and yes, definitely. As a writer, you want to keep moving forward, not regress. At first, I struggled because I wasn’t allowing my own growth to influence the music, I was trying to jump straight back into the past. I boxed Kisschasy into what I thought it should sound like instead of letting it evolve naturally. But then I went back and listened to our old stuff, which I rarely do unless we’re playing live, and realised our band was more eclectic than I’d given us credit for.

The first album, Paper People, had so many different elements, and it reminded me that the essence of Kisshasy could stay the same while new influences shaped the sound. That realisation unlocked everything, once I approached songwriting with that mindset, the ideas flowed naturally. At the core, the things that make Kisschasy what it is, energy, pounding drums, snarky lyrics, cheeky attitude, and a certain vocal push are still there. But around that, we’ve allowed change and experimentation. That’s why the new material feels fresh yet still unmistakably Kisschasy. And once I understood that, everything clicked, and the songs came quickly, like I’d finally found the key I’d been searching for.

So was that the catalyst to open the floodgates as you described before, or were there other things that might’ve had a subtle influence as well?
Well, there was the feeling that it would be nice to not just be playing old songs. When I came back in 2022 to play with the other guys, I realised how special the chemistry between the four of us really is. It’s something you can’t buy, it takes years to develop. As soon as we got into a room together, everything flowed naturally, and it felt too good to waste.

In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, “What if we could capture this energy with new music?” It would be great for us and for the world to have another great rock and roll band, you can never have too many. But, as I’ve said before, I had to wait for the right songs to be good enough.

From a band perspective, was there an element of once it’s gone, you appreciate it even more when you finally have it back, maybe more than you did early in your career?
Absolutely. In fact, after we called it a day, there were a few years when I wanted to ignore the fact that the band had existed. I wasn’t ashamed, but I wanted to see what I could do outside of that identity. I had that opportunity, but eventually, I realised how lucky we were to have experienced what we did. Not everybody gets that chance. Time away from something can make you appreciate it even more, and that’s why I’m grateful for the break we had. It’s made us a better band, strengthened the songs, and given everything more depth.

I absolutely love the single Lie to Me! Fantastic song. You must be thrilled with how it turned out. What’s the story behind it?
Thank you! The story behind Lie to Me connects to a larger thread running through the songs I recorded in Melbourne in March. I won’t say too much about our plans for them just yet, but Lie To Me explores the lies we tell ourselves to remain comfortable in life. Whether it’s religion, politics, or astrology, we convince ourselves of certain things that reinforce our worldview. After the last presidential election, I found myself wondering how certain people end up in positions of power. It made me think about how we construct narratives in relationships, friendships, leadership, how we sometimes lie to ourselves to believe what we want to believe. That’s the essence of the song.

How was it being back in the studio with the band, jamming and later recording?
It was incredible. One of the cool things about this process was the limitations we had to work within. Nowadays, everyone has home studios, but since we live in different countries, we only had five days to record. I demoed the songs and sent them to the band, telling them to add their own flavor. Then we had a week together. I landed on Friday, we rehearsed on Saturday and Sunday, and then we had five days in St. Kilda, Melbourne to record everything.

That kind of old-school approach doesn’t happen much anymore. Usually, bands tweak and refine things endlessly. But having a tight deadline gave the songs a natural cohesion. It sounds like a record, with songs that belong together. We couldn’t overthink anything, it just has this spark because the songs were fresh and hadn’t been played to death. It feels exciting, raw, and alive.

How did you feel once the recording sessions were done? Was it one of those “Yeah, nailed it!” moments?
Absolutely. When you’re a songwriter, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than when the recorded songs don’t match the vision in your head. But when they exceed your expectations, that’s the best feeling in the world. That’s exactly what happened this time, the songs turned out even better than I was hoping. And that’s down to the band. There’s something almost magical between the four of us, something that elevates the songs beyond what I could do on my own.

Sonically, how would you describe Kisschasy now compared to your last couple of albums?
This time, we leaned into a big, raw sound with a bit of a ’90s edge, huge guitars, minimal effects, no guitar plugins, just classic tube amps. We let the songs speak for themselves. There’s a mix of grunge, early 2000s energy, and influences from bands like Superchunk, Fountains of Wayne, and Weezer, big hooks, big guitars, no messing around. It’s in line with our previous work but feels more aggressive, bigger, and more immediate.

What’s the time frame for the album, before the tour or after?
It’ll be after the tour. I don’t know how much I’m supposed to reveal, but we’ve recorded ten songs, including Lie To Me. We’re still figuring out how to roll everything out. The one thing we knew for sure was that we wanted at least one song out before the tour started. Beyond that, everything’s still up in the air.

Are you excited to get back on the road? The shows are selling really well, there’s clearly plenty of love for Kisschasy across the country.
It is! I was confident in the new music, but when I saw the venues we’d be playing, I had a moment of doubt, some of them are massive. The Forum, Fortitude Music Hall, Hindley Street, all incredible spaces.
The fact that they’re selling so well is mind-blowing. It’s going to be an incredible experience to step into those rooms with our fans and be part of that energy again. I can’t wait.

Is it hard to keep a lid on everything and focus just on the tour? Or do you find yourself thinking beyond it?
I’m finding it really hard. It’s tough to stay in the moment when I’m this excited about the new material.
Since the songs aren’t all mixed yet, I can’t wait to hear the final versions. When you have something you love, you just want to share it with the world, that’s why people have weddings and invite their friends, right? I want to shout about it from the mountaintops, but restraint is important. That being said, we’ll have a few surprises for the fans, we’ll definitely be playing some new songs. Not too many, but if you’ve got VIP tickets, you might just hear an extra track. That’s what I’ll tease for now.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch Kisschasy on the following dates, tickets from SBM Presents…