Australia's Kisschasy formed in 2002 on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Darren Cordeux (green shirt), lead axeman Sean Thomas (right), bassist Joel Vanderuit (second from left) and drummer Karl Ammitzboll (left) were schoolmates with a shared love of rock music who started jamming together and off they went, naming themselves after the children's playground game. After signing with the ironically named Below Par Records, in 2005 they released their debut album, United Paper People, which went gold domestically. Its lead single Do-Do's and Whoa-Oh's earned them an ARIA nomination for Breakthrough Artist - Single, and in '06 they were nominated for Channel V's Brand Spankin' New Artist Award.
In 2007 their sophomore effort, Hymns for the Nonbeliever, also went gold and spawned three radio hit singles: Opinions Won't Keep You Warm at Night (whose accompanying video is hilarious, if maybe dated now; it's an overt political satire), Spray-On Pants and Strings and Drums. Their national tour for this album included them opening several shows for Good Charlotte, one of which I was lucky enough to see in Sydney. It was flawless.
Their third and best album, Seizures, followed in 2009. An endlessly sprightly and compact effort, it also spawned three successful singles: Generation Why, the lilting ballad Dinosaur and my favourite of their songs, Turnaround. I hold it as the best album of '09. After an extensive tour supporting Seizures, Kisschasy amicably called it quits in 2015, citing their belief their belief that too many bands had kept at it too long. But they'd already made a permanent mark on Aussie contemporary music; for example, Spray-On Pants and Dinosaur are featured in the entertaining 2016 film Spin-Out, which was distributed internationally.
But about the music itself now. United Paper People is unmistakably an album by young rockers still honing their craft and has strong pop-punk echoes which they outgrew, but even by this stage they showed a good grasp of melody and hooks. Cordeux also sings with versatility, his phrasing being gritty in the punchier numbers and airy and vulnerable in the more tender tunes. Perhaps inevitably, Hymns for the Nonbeliever is considerably more confident and daring, with its stronger language and themes. Cordeux came into his own as a lyricist with this one, and the instrumentation from all four is also more experienced. But again, I consider Seizures their finest hour. It's just more cohesive, dynamic, danceable and consistent than both its predecessors combined. They certainly bowed out on the right disc. And they never lost interest in that scratchy, vinyl-record indie rock vibe which I find just irresistible.
If indie rock and pop punk are both heaven to your ears (as they are to mine), I doubt you'll hear a band do them better than Australia's own Kisschasy. Thanks for the tunes and memories, fellas.
In 2007 their sophomore effort, Hymns for the Nonbeliever, also went gold and spawned three radio hit singles: Opinions Won't Keep You Warm at Night (whose accompanying video is hilarious, if maybe dated now; it's an overt political satire), Spray-On Pants and Strings and Drums. Their national tour for this album included them opening several shows for Good Charlotte, one of which I was lucky enough to see in Sydney. It was flawless.
Their third and best album, Seizures, followed in 2009. An endlessly sprightly and compact effort, it also spawned three successful singles: Generation Why, the lilting ballad Dinosaur and my favourite of their songs, Turnaround. I hold it as the best album of '09. After an extensive tour supporting Seizures, Kisschasy amicably called it quits in 2015, citing their belief their belief that too many bands had kept at it too long. But they'd already made a permanent mark on Aussie contemporary music; for example, Spray-On Pants and Dinosaur are featured in the entertaining 2016 film Spin-Out, which was distributed internationally.
But about the music itself now. United Paper People is unmistakably an album by young rockers still honing their craft and has strong pop-punk echoes which they outgrew, but even by this stage they showed a good grasp of melody and hooks. Cordeux also sings with versatility, his phrasing being gritty in the punchier numbers and airy and vulnerable in the more tender tunes. Perhaps inevitably, Hymns for the Nonbeliever is considerably more confident and daring, with its stronger language and themes. Cordeux came into his own as a lyricist with this one, and the instrumentation from all four is also more experienced. But again, I consider Seizures their finest hour. It's just more cohesive, dynamic, danceable and consistent than both its predecessors combined. They certainly bowed out on the right disc. And they never lost interest in that scratchy, vinyl-record indie rock vibe which I find just irresistible.
If indie rock and pop punk are both heaven to your ears (as they are to mine), I doubt you'll hear a band do them better than Australia's own Kisschasy. Thanks for the tunes and memories, fellas.
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