Recently touring Australia with Good Charlotte and Yellowcard, where we said 'Kisschasy remind us of their undeniable catchiness and talent', the pop-punk, emo-rockers continue their return to the spotlight with the new album 'The Terrors Of Comfort'.
Their first full-length LP since 2009's 'Seizures', 'The Terrors Of Comfort' landed last month and features the singles 'Lie To Me', 'Parasite', 'Uncomfortably Numb' and 'Better'.
"At first I didn’t want to write new material," admits lead vocalist, guitarist Darren Cordeux.
"Music had broken my heart, like it does to most of its creators at some point, and I was apprehensive after a failed attempt at a fourth Kisschasy album years earlier [in 2015].
"In late 2024 I met with Joel [Vanderuit, bass] and Jai (Jai is like our executive-producer-meets-manager-meets-friend) and they suggested we release a new single as a way of giving something back to the fans who've stuck by us. The trouble was we knew it had to be great.
"At some point over the next few months, lightning struck. There was a sound, there was a concept, and there was not one but fourteen songs. The band agreed we didn't have a single, we had an album.
"We picked our favourite ten of the bunch, got together in Melbourne, rehearsed for two days, recorded for five days and somehow came out with what I believe is the best thing we've ever created."
Ahead of a hometown album party at Prince Bandroom (Melbourne) on Sunday (8 March), here Darren shares five things that made him appreciate being in a band while Kisschasy was on hiatus.
The fans
I know it sounds like a cliche, but it's the truth. To do the thing you love in front of people who get it, with whom it connects, is a feeling that never gets old despite all the other pitfalls of touring.
Over time you see a lot of the same faces, these people become a part of your life just like you're a part of theirs.
Our raw power
I played with a plethora of different musicians during Kisschasy's hiatus, but one thing that struck me when we started rehearsing again was how heavy our band is.
The sheer force that materialises when the four of us play music together is something I'd taken for granted until we reentered the rehearsal room in 2022.
New places
Touring pushes you into corners of the country that you might not otherwise ever think to visit.
Some of my favourite tour memories are from those regional towns (north QLD, south WA etc.), where the air feels different and the people let loose with an abandon that feels truly cathartic.
Camaraderie
There's something to be said for spending an exorbitant amount of time with three other guys in crammed quarters.
You become a brotherhood, even after long stints apart. You share a multitude of unspoken languages, musical and otherwise.
Even after seven years apart, as soon as we got back in the van it was as if no time had passed at all.
Purpose
As heartbreaking as it can be sometimes making music, especially with Kisschasy, it's the thing I'm best at, and is what gives me real purpose in life.
It wasn't until Kisschasy reformed that I felt like my true self again.
